


The Story of The Lost Prince

by lyndsie_l



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Anal Sex, BAMF Castiel, Blow Jobs, Creepy Dick, Dragon Castiel, Fluff and Smut, Hand Jobs, Kid Dean, Leviathans, M/M, Magic, Mating Bond, Mating Rituals, Not Beta Read, Oil Gland Kink, Prince Castiel, Prince Dean, Wing Kink, Wingfic, fairytale AU, fast paced in the beginning, just in the beginning, spoilers in the tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-03
Updated: 2015-08-20
Packaged: 2018-03-16 05:22:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 82,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3476012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lyndsie_l/pseuds/lyndsie_l
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Growing up, Dean had constantly heard the story of The Lost Prince: the exotic beauty whose intelligence and kindness surpassed all others. He'd heard how the prince was kidnapped from his home by a great and terrible beast and hidden away in the dark forest, waiting for a brave knight to come and save him. He begged for his dad to tell him this story every night before he went to bed, so he was quite familiar with the fairytale.</p><p>And yet, he was still unprepared when he actually met the Lost Prince himself.</p><p>Immediately, Dean had taken upon himself the seemingly impossible task of saving the Lost Prince from the beast that caged him in. No matter what the cost.</p><p>After all, how hard could it be?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So...this started as a one-shot shot and turned into a major beast of a chapter fic. Turns out I don't know how to write a story less than 50,000 words.
> 
> Whoops.
> 
> This is turning out to become probably the longest fanfic I've written, so kudos to myself for that I guess. 
> 
> Please note, that because of the length of the chapters, this story will not be updated as frequently as some of my others works. I'm goal is to get at least one chapter out per week, however I apologize in advance if I do not meet this goal.
> 
> In any case, I'm really excited about this story and was excited to share it with all of you!
> 
> Warnings: Violence, attempted kidnapping, and reference to non-con, no actual non-con happens. Also, not beta read, so any and all mistakes are my own.

“Again! Again!”  


“Okay, okay. One last time: Once upon a time, there was a young prince who was considered to be the most beautiful and powerful of the land. He was kind hearted, intelligent, and loved by all his subjects. He was said to have powerful magic that he used to help. One day, he was approached by a strange man, demanding that he use these powers and his beauty to make him greater than all others. The prince refused and because of this was kidnapped by a great and terrible beast, and locked away in a dark castle hidden deep within the dark forest. There he waits for a brave knight to come and rescue him from his terrible fate and slay the beast that has held him captive for all these years."  


"Wow," a small child breathed, looking up at his father with amazement in his eyes, "You mean he's hidden here in this forest now?"  


His father nodded, running his fingers through the boy's blonde hair affectionately.  


"That's what the stories say," he confirmed.  


"And no one has been able to save him?" He asked, horrified, turning to look at the man who sat next to him.  


"Nope," the second man replied gruffly, scratching his beard thoughtfully, "He's still there, just waiting for some poor soul to come and try."  


"Daddy," the boy asked hesitantly, looking up, "What is the terrible beast that took him?"  


His dad shrugged his shoulders, "No one knows. Although, it's a fair guess that the beast is a dragon."  


The boy gasped, "But, you always said those are really dangerous!"  


His dad nodded, "That they are. Which is why you should never go out seeking one."  


"But you killed one," the boy said definitively, turning to their riding companion, looking for confirmation.  


The companion nodded his head, "That he did."  


The boy's eyes lit up and announced, "I bet you could save the lost prince, daddy. There's no one stronger and braver than you in the whole world!"  


The two adults chuckled at the boy's claims, his dad, ruffling his hair again, "Perhaps. However, I think I have my hands full with the two princes I have now. What would I do with a third?"  


The boy shrugged, “I dunno...” his sentence trailing off as his father’s attentions were pulled away from their conversation and turned to the door of the carriage as it pulled to a stop and a man leaned in through the now open door.  


"Pardon me, your Highness," he spoke, adjusting his armor nervously, "It appears there's something ahead on the road..."  


"Let's take a look," the King said, turning back to his son as he left the carriage, "It's getting late, Dean. I want you to lie down. It's much past your bedtime."  


"But dad," Dean whined, "I wanna hear more stories about the Lost Prince!"  


John chuckled and shook his head, "That's enough stories for the night. You be good for Sir Robert. I'll come back when the issue has been resolved."  


Dean sighed in defeat, "Okay."  


He waited until his dad left before turning to Sir Robert and saying hopefully, "I don't really feel all that tired, Bobby. Will you tell me another story?"  


Bobby laughed, "Nice try kiddo. But the King's orders were pretty clear."  


Dean frowned, grumbling to himself as he lay down on the seats across from Bobby, curling up beneath a blanket.  


The carriage door opened a second time, John’s head leaning in, “Bobby, I need ya for a moment. Mind coming out to take a look at this?”  


Bobby nodded turning back to Dean, “Be right back, bud.”  


"Bobby?" Dean asked, sitting straight up, and looking out with wide eyes in the direction his dad had left. He paused before asking timidly, "Are we safe?"  


Bobby was silent for a moment, looking out the window of their carriage. It was a fair question. They were traveling through the dark forest, a place rumored to be full of terrible magic and frightening beasts. They were riding in a caravan, on their way home from visiting another country. Although Bobby had strongly recommended they take the longer part around the forest, King John insisted they ride through, wanting to get home to his youngest son, Sam, as soon as he could.  


Bobby looked over at Dean who was anxiously waiting for an answer, "Don't forget who’s here with you. You're dad and I will always be there to protect you. You got it?"  


Dean nodded satisfied, closing his eyes and breathing in contempt.  


It felt like seconds later when he was shaken awake by the movement of the rocking carriage. Dean yelped out, falling to the floor, tangled up in his blanket. He looked around, finding himself alone.  


"Bobby?" He called out hesitantly, remembering that Bobby said he’d come back.  


"Daddy?" He tried again, looking around cautiously.  


The cabin filled with silence, leaving Dean feeling uneasy. He sat on the floor, wondering what he should do. Should he wait for someone to come back to him? Or go out and find his dad? He wasn't supposed to be left alone.  


Something hit the side of the cabin, and Dean jumped back, clutching his blanket tighter, screaming in fear. He took several deep breaths, his eyes tightly shut.  


"Be brave," he muttered to himself, “You’re not afraid.”  


His dad always told him that a prince should be brave. Princes weren’t scared on anything!  


He opened one eye, peeking around before deciding that he couldn’t wait here in the cabin alone. He needed to find his dad. Or Bobby. He would know what Dean needed to do.  


Dean opened the cabin door, peeking out shyly to look around. He didn’t see anyone close by, so he jumped down and raced to the other side. There was chaos everywhere Dean looked. His father’s knights were fighting against dark clothed bandits, swords clanking against the other.  


Dean trailed their movements, looking around to try and spot someone he knew.  


“Hey there, baby boy. Why don’t you come along with me.”  


Dean looked up at a tall man, hunched over Dean, a sneer on his face. His dad warned him that there were some not nice people in the world, and he had a feeling this was one of those.  


“No!” Dean shouted, kicking the man’s shins, causing him to call out in surprise.  


He lept forward, away from the unsuspecting man, weaving in and out of the battlefield before him.  


Men were fighting all around him and Dean had a feeling that the creepy man was following behind him. He didn't stop to look back, he just knew that he needed to get out of there.  


He tried to spot his dad or Bobby, or anyone else that he knew, but the forest was consumed in chaos. At this rate, he knew he would never have any luck in finding them. He heard someone call out behind him and yelped, jumping out of the way before a man fell to the ground. Dean paused, staring into the lifeless eyes next to him in horror. He noticed the emblem on the man's chest signified he was a member of the royal army.  


His dad's army.  


He scrambled to his feet, bolting in the opposite direction of the fighting.  


He had to get out of there, he had to find somewhere safe. Even though a member of his dad's guard had died, that didn't mean that his dad was gone. He was the best fighter in the whole world! Out of everyone, he would definitely be the one to survive. And he would come find him.  


Dean weaved in and out of the trees, the loud sounds of the clanking swords and shouting men disappearing into the background behind him. He ran until his legs burned so bad he didn't think he could run anymore. He clung to a nearby tree, gasping for breath.  


The silence surrounding him was eerie. The trees were darker and thicker than the area he had escaped from and he felt a strange sense of discontent and began to feel fear creeping into his chest. He turned around, looking around the area, trying to figure out which direction he had come from. He really didn't know. He decided he should keep moving, not knowing what kinds of animals lived in the forest and thinking he should find a landmark so his dad could find him easier.  


He pushed forward, climbing over broken sticks and fallen trunks, cringing each time his light footsteps crunched loudly against the fallen leaves on the ground, echoing in the stillness. He bravely pushed through the mist of the forest, hoping he'd find somewhere he could stop soon.  


He perked up when he heard a couple of voices somewhere off in the distance, but froze as soon as their words became clear.  


"Are you sure he came in this direction?"  


"I'm sure. Stop questioning me and just find the brat."  


"Why are we bothering anyway?"  


"Because he's the prince! Can you imagine the ransom the King will pay to get his precious baby boy back?"  


Chills ran down Dean's spine. He recognized one of the voices as the creepy man who had approached him earlier. 

His heart dropped, realizing they had followed him all the way out here. He had to keep moving! He had to get away! He couldn't let them capture him, and keep him prisoner!  


Dean ran forward, not caring he was leaving a trail of sounds behind him, pushing through his panic when he heard one of the men yell, "I hear him! This way!"  


He went deeper and deeper into the woods, his heart racing as he approached a black, ornate gate. He sped through the opening, not pausing for a moment to think more about it. The voices were right behind him.  


"I see him!" One man yelled, "He went through the gate!"  


"Should we follow him?" the other man replied nervously.  


"Don't be a pansy. The gold's as good as ours now."  


Dean raced forward, begging his legs not to give out on him now. He looked up to see a castle in the distance, his heart surging with hope for the first time. Maybe there was someone there that could help him.  


"Grab him!" the man yelled from behind him, nearly at his heels.  


Dean opened his mouth, eyes locked on the dark, looming castle shrouded by the dark mist and screamed out, "Help! Please! Help me!"  


He tripped over a root in the ground, yelping as his small body went tumbling forward, scraping the skin on his arm and knee.  


The two men stood over him, wide smiles as though they had just caught themselves the meal of a lifetime.  


"Time to come with us, my pretty prince," he chuckled darkly, bending forward and clutching onto Dean's arm, pulling him to his feet.  


"NO!" Dean screamed, hysterics consuming his body, "No! Please! Stop! Someone help me!"  


"There's no one here to hear you," the man sneered, pushing his face close to Dean's.  


"We should get out of here," the other man spoke nervously, glancing around the woods.  


The first man ignored him, instead reaching forward to grab Dean's tear-stained face to face forward, looking into his dark eyes, "Shame you're worth more untouched. We could have a lot of fun."  


"No," Dean sobbed, ashamed at the fear he felt. His dad would never succomb to fear like this. He would have fought. But, Dean couldn't. He was too small and completely powerless. Instead, he was reduced to begging for his life, "Please don't. Let me go."  


The man stood up, turning to his companion and ordered, "Let's get out of here."  


"Finally," the other muttered, turning to lead them back the way they came through the gate.  


"No!" Dean screamed, trying to kick and claw at the man whose fingers were lactched around his arm, "Let go of me!"  


"Shut up!" the man spat, pulling Dean forward, practically dragging him against the uneven ground, scraping up his legs worse than they had been before.  


A loud roar, echoing through the trees made each of the men stop, looking out in horror.  


"What was that?" the second man asked.  


"Nothing," the first replied quickly, shuddering when a loud roar filled the forest a second time, closer than it had seemed before, "Keep moving."  


The two picked up their speed, the tall man grabbing to pick up Dean who was still struggling to fight against him.  


"Let go!" Dean tried again, thrashing his body to try and get out of the man's tight grip.  


"I said shut up!" The man yelled while a third roar blew wind in their direction.  


"It's getting closer!" The man yelled, turning back and screeching at the sight behind him.  


Dean's body trembled as he still fought the grip that held onto him, not daring to look back at the monster that had followed them.  


"RUN!" The man yelled, turning towards the black gates, which were in sight, and bolting in their direction.  


Dean continued screaming and sobbing, as the man realized he'd never make it still holding onto Dean.  


"Give him up as a sacrifice!" The second man suggested.  


The man who held Dean looked pained, but obliged, throwing Dean to the ground, hard enough for his ankle to feel as though it were on fire.  


This was it. He was about to be eaten.  


Knowing there was no way he'd be able to outrun a monster, Dean pulled his legs close to him, burrying his head into his knees and cried, and waited for his inevitable death.  


He felt a warm breath blow over his body, and a deep low growl. He sobbed as a roar echoed over his body, his hands immediately rushing to cover his ears as the sound was louder than anything he'd ever heard before.  


He waited for something to strike him, but instead heard the screams of the men who tried to kidnap him. Dean squinted one eye open, looking towards the gate, only to see a body being thrown against the black gate. He screamed, shutting his eyes tightly once again, tears spilling through the closed eye lids.  


Another scream, another roar, this battle seemed to last forever, and Dean was caught in the middle. He took a deep breath, willing himself to be brave one more time, and jumped up, bolting towards the gate. Before he could make his escape, he tripped over a pile of rocks collapsing on his injured ankle and hit his head against the bars.  


Black spots blurred his vision and he heard one last roar before succumbing to the blackness completely.  


\--  


Dean sighed happily as he snuggled beneath heavy covers, relishing in the warmth and weight on top of him. He blinked his eyes open, wondering if Ellen had breakfast ready for him yet, when his eye caught the color of the blue silk sheets he was lying in. He didn't have blue sheets, his were red.  


Dean shot up in the bed, looking around the room, panic once again rising in his chest.  


The last thing he remembered were the bad guys who were trying to take him and the monster roaring above him.  


Did the bad guys succeed in stealing him away?  


How did he get from there to here?  


Where was _here_ anyway?  


The room had to be larger than his own back home. Perhaps even as large as his dad's. The bed he was lying in was in a dark wooden frame and there was other matching furniture.  


Dean jumped when the door knob turned, pulling the sheets up to cover half his face, so only his eyes were looking out.  


He was surprised when a tall, beautiful man with messy black hair and long dark grey robes stepped through.  


He glanced over at Dean, who was watching curiously, and spoke in a deep gravely voice, "Oh good. You're awake."  


Dean watched the man as he prepared a cup of a drink, speaking up timidly, "Who are you?"  


The man turned, holding two cups of liquid as he walked cautiously to where Dean was lying, "My name is Castiel."  


"Cas-el? Cas-y-el? Castile?" Dean huffed, frustrated he couldn't get the other man's name right. It was much too difficult.  


"Cas?" Dean tried, accepting the cup that the older man held out for him. He was pleased when Cas nodded, accepting the nickname and showing Dean he had his full attention.  


"What happened? Are you…" he hesitated before asking, “Are you a bad guy?”  


Cas frowned, sipping from his cup, signaling that Dean should do the same. Dean looked down at the liquid, scrunching up his nose at the smell. It didn't smell nice.  


He looked away, his gaze going back up to Cas' who was watching him amusedly.  


"It's tea," he answered Dean's unasked question, "made with the herbs from my garden."  


Not wanting to be rude, despite the fact that he wasn’t sure whether or not this was a good guy, he hesitantly sick his tongue out, dipping it into the dark liquid. He made a noise of distaste as the bitter substance rolled into his mouth.  


"Yuck," he said, setting down the mug and running his teeth over the edge of his tongue, desperately trying to rid his mouth of the lingering taste.  


"Perhaps this particular drink isn't for everyone," Cas spoke, his lips slightly upturned, as he took another sip from his own streaming beverage.  


Dean frowned, staring up at this older man and asked again, "Cas? Where am I? Am I safe here?"  


Cas thought for a moment, before responding, "You are in my home. In the dark woods."  


So, he was still in the dark woods. He thought back to the castle he had seen in the distance and wondered if that’s where he was. Perhaps those bad men were wrong and Cas had heard his cries for help!  


He asked again, "But, how did I get here? Last thing I remember was running from those men..."  


Dean shuddered at the thought of the man's hands clutching him tightly, threatening to take him away from everyone he loved. He forced himself to continue, "And then the monster came!"  


He watched Cas flinch at the words, but pressed on, his arms flailing animatedly as he retold his story, "I thought he was going to eat me up. So I tried to run, but I fell. Then, everything went dark. And when I woke up, i was here!"  


Dean looked back into Cas' deep blue gaze, searching for the answers.  


Cas opened his mouth and hesitated, before he stated with determination, "You asked me if I was one of the bad guys, and I want to assure you that I am not. As long as you’re with me, no vile thing will ever harm you."  


A rush of warmth filled Dean's chest, knowing without a doubt that Cas would keep his word. He felt safe with him. And his dad always told him to follow his gut.  


Dean frowned at the thought of his dad, remembering the bloodshed he'd fled from the day before. He pulled his knees close to his chest and spoke in a small voice.  


"Cas, do you think my dad is okay?"  


Cas' shoulders slumped as he watched the small boy and responded honestly, "I don't know what happened to your Father. I'm sorry."  


Dean took a deep breath, counting all the way to ten, before he jumped out of the soft bed, holding out his hand for Cas to take.  


"Well, we're just going to have to go out and find him."  


Cas placed his hand into Dean's, his eyes immediately dropping to the floor.  


"I'm sorry, Dean. I-I can't."  


Dean squeezed his hand, stepping forward to place the other on his shoulder and spoke encouragingly, "Sure you can, Cas. I know it may be scary, but if we stick together..."  


Cas let out a humorless laugh and interrupted, "I'm not frightened, little one. I simply can not leave these grounds."  


Dean scrunched up his nose, "But, that doesn't make any sense. Why can't you..."  


He paused, thinking back to everything he'd learned, gazing into the deep blue eyes of the beautiful man before him.  


In fact, if Dean was being honest, this was probably the most beautiful man he'd ever seen, with his bronze skin, dark hair, and light eyes.  


He was a beautiful man, living in a castle, in the middle of the dark forest, who couldn't leave the grounds...  


Dean gasped, tapping his hand against Cas' shoulder excitedly, "You're the lost Prince!"  


He was rewarded with a warm, crooked smile, "I suppose I am."  


Dean stepped back, both his hands covering his mouth as the realization struck him like lightening on a stormy day, "I found the lost Prince."  


He stood straight, both fists resting on his hips as he stuck his chest out proudly, "I am the greatest hunter ever to exist."  


Cas chuckled, watching Dean fondly through his thick black lashes, "Not quite yet, little one,"  


He held out his hand for Dean, who promptly accepted, allowing himself to be pulled back into Cas' space. Cas reached up, brushing a few strands of hair from his face and continued, "But perhaps one day you will be."  


Dean preened under the attention, lifting up his own hands to rub against the rough stubble on the older Prince's face, "You're just as beautiful as the stories say."  


Cas chuckled again, answering warmly, "I'll have to take your word for it."  


It dawned on Dean what this meant. Cas couldn't leave the grounds. He couldn't escape the castle. And there was no way that Dean was going out to wander on his own. He didn't know if he could find his way home in these dark woods.  


Besides, there was no way he was leaving Cas alone now that he had found him.  


"My dad will find us, and save us both," Dean proclaimed suddenly, "I know he will."  


Cas stared at Dean incredulously, as though he weren't sure how to respond to such a bold claim. After a full minute, he seemed to gather his thoughts, and merely nodded at the small child.  


"Alright Dean," he spoke deeply, "I believe you."  


Dean nodded, satisfied now that they had a plan, "Good. Well then, all we have to do is wait."  


He stood up, rushing to climb back onto the soft bed, and sat cross legged in the middle, eyes wandering around the foreign room.  


Cas stayed still for a moment before standing up gracefully and gliding over to a small kitchenette area.  


He pulled out some fresh vegetables, dicing them into small cubes, and throwing them into a small pot.  


Dean watched as Cas worked for a few short minutes before falling back onto the bed, sighing exasperatedly.  


"I'm bored," he whined, "I hate waiting."  


Cas merely chuckled, "You were the one to suggest the activity, little one."  


Dean frowned, climbing off the soft sheets and marched over next to Cas' side.  


"Whatcha doing?"  


"Making soup," he replied, continuing to cut the veggies effortlessly.  


"Can I help?" Dean asked warily. Back at home, no one ever let him help.  


"Of course," Cas replied, much to his surprise.  


He instructed Dean to wash his hands, then showed him which veggies to collect and had him put them into the pot to simmer. Cas even let Dean cut a zucchini all by himself! Dean insisted Cas stand behind him, just in case he needed help.  


When they were done, Dean helped Cas clean up the kitchen area, while they waited for their food to cook. Despite the fact that his stomach was growling, he didn't complain once, happily helping his new friend with whatever he needed.  


When the food was finally done, they sat down to eat, Dean sitting right next to Cas so they were touching. It was the best soup he'd ever had, even without all the meat.  


When they were done, Cas ordered Dean to lie down on the bed, seeing how Dean was failing to suppress his yawns.  


"But, Caaaas," Dean pouted, dragging his feet to the bed.  


"Time for sleep, little one," Cas insisted, helping Dean underneath the covers.  


"Tell me a story, pleeeease!" Dean begged, as Cas tucked the sheets around him.  


Cas frowned, "I'm not sure I know many..."  


"Tell me your story," Dean insisted, "The story of the lost prince is my favorite!"  


Cas stared back, his mouth slightly agape. He swallowed and spoke timidly, "Alright, I'll tell you my story."  


Dean patted the spot next to him, urging Cas to sit close. He smiled happily when the other man obliged, snuggling tightly against his side, weaving his arm through the other's and grasping his hand tightly into his own.  


"Okay," he announced, "I'm ready."  


Cas smiled softly and started, “Well, I guess it started many, many years ago…”  


“No, Cas,” Dean interrupted, “You have to start with _‘Once Upon a Time’_!”  


Cas chuckled, “My apologies. Once upon a time, many years ago, there was a great and prosperous kingdom. And in this kingdom, lived a young man.”  


“That’s you!” Dean exclaimed.  


“Yes, little one. Well, this young man loved doing many things.”  


“Like what?” Dean asked curiously.  


Cas was thoughtful before answering, “Well, he liked tending the gardens. And playing in the springs. And flying.”  


Cas closed his eyes, humming softly to himself, “He especially loved flying.”  


Dean scoffed, “Cas, humans can’t fly.”  


Cas simply shushed him and moved on, “This young man was very happy and constantly surrounded by people who loved him. So, when one day a visitor came to the castle, asking for this boy’s hand in marriage, it wasn’t unusual, and was in fact expected.”  


Dean scrunched his nose, “Yuck.”  


“The young man, however, refused to accept his hand seeing something in him that no one else seemed to be able to see.”  


“What was it?” Dean asked quietly, leaning forward.  


Cas answered, “He felt a dark and strange presence when he was around this foreigner. But, the boy’s parents asked if he would give this man a chance.”  


“Why?”  


The older man hesitated before responded, “This stranger was wealthy and had a lot of influence. He was a ruler of a nearby kingdom, and had appeared as though he would make a fine husband. So, the boy agreed to meet with the man each day for two weeks, before he was required to give his answer.”  


“So, what did he find out?” Dean asked eagerly.  


“Well, he found that the more he spent time with this man, the darker he felt. He learned that this other man was accustomed to using a strange and dark magic to obtain and sustain his power. A dark magic that the young boy felt was too dangerous to use. So, when the two weeks came to a close, the boy answered a second time, that he would not marry a man whose soul was so irreparably dark and twisted.”  


“Was the man angry?”  


Cas nodded, “He was very angry. He ranted and raved, and sent a blast of magic around the castle, ordering the young prince to accept his hand, but the boy refused. So, the man left, threatening that he would return and he would have his way eventually.  


“The young boy was concerned, but his parents simply brushed the threat off, claiming that the man could do nothing to harm their great kingdom.”  


“What did he do?”  


“A few years later, he returned to the castle and put a curse on the kingdom, dooming the race to become outcasts among man. He set the castle into a blaze of flames that burned late into the night. Amidst the chaos, he snuck into the castle, found the young prince, and stole him away, hiding him in a dark, enchanted castle, guarded by the worst creatures ever to roam about on the earth.”  


“Dragons,” Dean breathed excitedly.  


Cas flinched again, his eyes looking sad, “No, little one. Not dragons.”  


Dean’s jaw dropped, “Bu-but…what’s worse than dragons?”  


Cas frowned, his eyes deepening with sorrow. He ran his fingers through Dean’s hair and spoke softly, “Perhaps dragons aren’t as bad as they seem.”  


Dean frowned at the idea. He’d never heard of that before. He’d always been taught that dragons were selfish and would rob you of your gold and treasures and eat all your livestock.  


Before he could ask what Cas meant, the older man continued his story, “The dark man asked the prince one last time if he would accept his hand and end the chaos and destruction brought upon his people and his land, and the prince thought about it.”  


“What?” Dean asked, outraged, “He thought about it? But why? He didn’t accept it did he?”  


Cas shook his head and explained, “Yes, he thought about it. He thought about the friends and family he left behind, the people he loved being killed in his name. He thought that maybe perhaps if he said yes, then the terror would stop. Perhaps if he selflessly gave himself away, he would save his people from a terrible fate.”  


Cas took a deep breath, “So, yes, he thought long and hard. But in the end, he couldn’t do it. He knew that this evil man who’d taken him was a liar, and the likelihood of him keeping his word wasn’t likely. So, he said no, one final time.”  


Dean ran his fingers along the older man’s palm, tracing the lines he saw in front of him. He paused at a golden bracelet Cas wore, feelings the deep ridges of the metal against his fingertips. He wondered briefly if the etchings meant anything or if they were simply a pretty design. Somehow, he felt that Cas wouldn't wear something that didn't have some meaning.  


He shook his head, thinking back to Cas' story, wondering what would have happened if Cas said yes.  


“I’m glad you said no, Cas,” he whispered.  


Cas kissed the top of Dean’s head and whispered back, “Me too, little one.”  


He sat back, watching as Dean traced his palm, his fingers extending to trace the veins on the inside of his arm and finished, “So, the evil man kept the young prince hidden away. He was determined that if he couldn’t have him, then no one could. He casts dangerous spells around the fortress, locking the young prince inside its walls forever, ensuring that he could never escape his grasp.”  


Dean frowned, sitting up suddenly and climbed onto his knees so he was face to face with Cas. He placed his hands on his shoulders and spoke very seriously, “I’m going to save you, Cas. I promise.”  


He watched as Cas’ eyes melted at the sentiment, and spoke back warmly, “I think it’s time for bed now, little one.”  


Dean nodded, holding Cas’ hand in his as he climbed back under the covers, refusing to let go.  


“I’m serious, Cas,” Dean said again as he settled into the sheets, “I’m going to save you. Ad when I do, you can come back to the castle and live with me! And you can have a garden, and we can play in the woods, and go horseback riding! But not flying, cause I don’t like heights.”  


Sighing happily at this plan, Dean curled up against his side, nuzzling his nose into the other man’s ribcage, nearly purring at the feel of the man’s hands in his hair. He finally closed his eyes, allowing himself to fall into a deep and happy sleep.  


\--  


The next day went about the same as the first. Dean begged Cas to tell him stories of his childhood, which the older man amusedly complied. He learned all about his homeland, and the rich and prosperous nature that filled the grounds. They went into a greenhouse in the castle, picking vegetables and fruit to eat, and Cas was kind enough to let him help prepare all of the food.  


Dean made sure to remind Cas several times throughout their time together that his dad would find them and he would save them. Cas would always frown slightly before answering back, "Of course, Dean."  


The days passed by quickly and Dean found himself on day three, still waiting for their rescue. He assured Cas that he wasn't anxious, he knew his dad would come.  


So, when a knock and a yell came from the front door, Dean jumped up from his spot next to Cas on the bed where they had been reading a story and ran out to meet the person down on the main floor.  


"Dad!" He called out, racing out of the room.  


His heart nearly burst in excitement when he turned the corner and found his dad standing in the entry way, cautiously looking around.  


"Dean," his father breathed in relief, immediately dropping to his knees and holding out his arms for his son to run into.  


Dean clutched onto his dad, speaking frantically, "I knew you would come, I just knew it. I told Cas you would save us and you did!"  


His dad leaned back and asked alarmed, "Cas? Who's Cas?"  


Cas' footsteps filled the chamber as he ran into the room, having chased after Dean. He froze at the entrance, his eyes racing to look in between Dean and his father.  


Dean jumped out of his dad's embrace, running to grab Cas' hand and dragged him back to his dad.  


"Cas, this is my dad. I told you he would come! I told you!"  


"Yes you did, little one," Cas replied, looking nervously at the man that stood before him.  


"Dad, this is Cas...Casti-..."  


"Castiel," the older man's deep voice supplied helpfully.  


"Yeah," Dean agreed, nodding fervently. Then, in a stage whisper, he informed his dad, "He's the lost prince."  


His dad's eyes widened in wonder and disbelief. He looked approvingly at Cas' figure, causing the other to shuffle uncomfortably.  


"Is he now?" John asked, stepping forward, holding out his hand, "I'm King John of Winchester."  


Cas bowed his head, kissing the back of John's hand and replied, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness."  


Dean watched the exchange, his eyebrows furrowed, unsure what was going on. He pulled on his dad's sleeve to gain his attention and spoke, "I told Cas that you would save him and that he could come home with us. He's going to play with me and I'm going to take him to the pond down the road."  


John's eyebrow raised, amused, "Did you now?" He took a step forward, his eyes never leaving Cas and asked, "And did you agree to the terms, lost prince?"  


"Dean," Cas' voice spoke, slightly strained, "Why don't you run up and grab some food to take on the journey."  


"Okay Cas," Dean replied happily, leaving his father and Cas behind. He raced up the steps back into the room where he has spent most of his time. He found a bag and threw a bunch of vegetables into it, hoping his dad would be okay with the lack of meat.  


He raced back out and down the stairs, catching the end of the adult’s conversation.  


“…too dangerous,” Cas spoke mournfully, “You have to choose.”  


“I’m sorry,” his dad answered, shaking his head, “but I think my choice is fairly obvious.”  


Cas smiled sadly, “I know.”  


“Are you sure…” his dad started, being cut off by Cas.  


“I’m sure.”  


Dean raced in between the two, unsure what they were talking about, but jumped into his dad’s arms, holding the bags of food.  


“I got it!” he exclaimed, smiling brightly at his achievements.  


“Good job little one,” Cas answered warmly, before telling John, “You should leave now. The sooner you go, the easier it will be to get away.”  


Dad looked up at his dad, his eyes squinting in confusion, as he tried to decipher what Cas was trying to say.  


“Thank you,” his dad breathed, turning away.  


Dean grunted, pushing back against his dad and yelled out, “Wait! Where are you going?”  


“We’ve got to get out of here, Dean.”  


Dean struggled against his dad’s grasp, squirming enough that the hold on him was forced to loosen enough for him to jump out of his dad’s arms.  


His dad called out his name as he raced back to Cas, grabbing his hand and pulling on it.  


“C’mon, Cas! We have to go.”  


Cas’ shoulders dropped as he knelt down onto the floor, so his face was level with Dean’s.  


“I’m afraid I won’t be making this trip.”  


Dean’s jaw dropped and he turned back to look at his dad, who simply nodded in confirmation.  


“Bu-but why?” Dean whined.  


Cas lifted up a hand, brushing his fingers against Dean’s cheek and kissed the top of his head, “You’ll be safer without me, little one.”  


His felt a hand rest on his shoulder and looked up to see his dad staring firmly down at him, “It’s time to go, Dean.”  


Dean lurched forward, wrapping his arms tightly around Cas’ neck, sniffing into the space. He was glad when Cas returned the gesture, wrapping his own arms around him in return, holding him tightly. His embrace was warm and pleasant.  


“But, I want you to come with me,” Dean whispered, forcing himself not to cry in front of his dad.  


"I know," Cas responded.  


They held each other for a moment before Dean pulled away, a determined look on his face.  


"I'm coming back for you," he declared boldly.  


"If you say so," Cas replied hesitantly.  


Dean growled, brushing aside his dad's hands trying to pull him away and reached up to his neck pulling off the necklace his three year old brother had given him for his birthday just a few months before.  


He placed the cord gently over his new friend's head, placing the pendant against his chest.  


"I'm coming back Cas," Dean repeated softly, his hands placed firmly on the older man's shoulders, capturing his eyes in his own, "I promise."  


Cas' hand fluttered up the grab the pendant in his palm, holding it as though he were afraid Dean would retract his gift at any moment.  


"I believe you, Dean," he said, a soft look of awe settling onto his face, "Now you need to go. Quickly."  


Dean nodded, holding out his arms for his dad to pick him up, who immediately did so effortlessly.  


"Go out the back gate. I'll be able to distract the creature out in the front, giving you time to get away," Cas instructed John.  


John nodded, turning to leave out the door he had originally entered through.  


Dean looked up over his dad's shoulder, catching a glimpse at the beautiful lost prince one last time, marveling at how he looked down at the pendant with wonder. Cas caught Dean's gaze one last time, sending him off with a little wave and a whispered, "Stay safe, my little prince."  


With those words, his dad exited through the front doors and out of the side of the castle.  


It was only a moment before Dean heard it. The roars of the creature that had cornered him earlier. He looked back, catching the shadow of two magnificent wings rising over the side of the fortress. Dean gasped at the sight, yelling at his dad, "We have to go back! We have to go back for Cas!"  


He hit his hands against his dad's shoulders, trying to loosen his hold as he had earlier, with no success. His dad simply kept moving forward, running further away from the creature that plagued Dean's mind.  


"Please!" Dean tried again, horrified when his dad stepped through the gate and stepped outside the realms of the castle grounds.  


His dad kept moving forward, his steps hitting the ground hard, one after the other, heading far away from the danger and from Cas.  


He couldn't hold it on any longer. Tears streamed down his light colored cheeks, as he watched the fog and darkness overtake the sight they were leaving behind.  


In that moment he didn't care what his dad would think if he caught him crying. He didn't care that he was supposed to be brave. He simply thought about Cas, all alone in a dark castle much too big for one person, guarded by monsters worse than anything Dean could imagine.  


_Worse than dragons_ , Cas had said.  


Dean closed his eyes, trying to memorize those bright blue eyes and the feel of the stubble beneath his soft fingertips.  


He wouldn't forget his promise.  


He would come back for Cas.  


He would save the lost prince.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your comments! Since this story started off as a one-shot (turned into a multi-chapter fic) this chapter is kind of fast paced and covers a decent chunk of amount of time. The next chapter will slow down and a lot more detail will start to be given in contrast to this one. 
> 
> Other than that, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

**_16 years later_**  


"Aha!" Dean yelled, thrusting his sword forward to hit against the side of his opponent's, effectively knocking the weapon out of their hands.  


"I surrender," the other man panted through his thick accent, lifting up his hand in defense.  


Dean smiled, sheathing his own weapon and held out his hand to help his companion up from his spot on the ground.  


The other accepted the help, grunting as he stood, and brushed the dirt off of his body as though he were trying to maintain some sense of dignity after having just had his ass handed to him.  


"You're getting better," the man observed.  


Dean rolled his eyes, "C'mon, just admit it Benny, I'm the best."  


Benny hummed, neither confirming our denying the other man's claims. He picked up his own sword, pointing it back at the castle and asked, "So, you're talking with Sir Robert today?"  


Dean looked down, checking his gear to make sure everything was secure.  


"Yup," he answered, popping the ‘p’ sound at the end of the word. He lifted his bag up, throwing it over his shoulder and started heading back up to his castle, aware of the other man following behind him.  


"Mind if I join you?" The other asked nonchalantly.  


Dean sighed, "Didn't think I had a choice otherwise."  


Benny shrugged, "You don't. As your personal guard I am supposed to be wherever you are at all times."  


"Well, what does it say when the guy you're guarding is a better fighter than you are," Dean teased.  


Benny smirked, "It says that I'm doing a damn good job making sure he's able to protect himself at all costs. And that you're a stubborn son of a bitch."  


Dean let out a bark of laughter, startling a couple of servants who were passing by, "I don't think you're allowed to call your future King that."  


"Pardon me, _your Highness_."  


Dean waved him off, "I'm going to clean up a bit. Meeting’s in an hour. Meet you there."  


Benny nodded, parting ways.  


Dean moaned in pleasure after he reached his room, his skin tingling against the cool air as he immediately pulled off his sticky garments, still soaked with sweat. He closed his eyes, clearing his mind of any nerves as he used a damp cloth to wipe down his body.  


He was prepared for this meeting. There was nothing for him to be worried about.  


Quickly throwing on a tunic over his pants, Dean grabbed a stack of papers, sucking in a deep breath, and left to meet in the strategy room. He wasn't surprised when he saw he was the last one to arrive, despite the fact he was fifteen meeting early.  


"Well," a gruff old man spoke from his seat at the end of the table, frowning as Dean joined the group, "might as well get started."  


Dean nodded in agreement, but still took his time to walk to his place at the table, giving him a chance to glance at the others in the room.  


Benny was the first one he spotted, standing by the door as he kept his post and position as Dean's guard. He’d been acting as Dean’s guard since he was 12 years old. In that time, Dean had come to trust the foreign man more than nearly anyone else he'd met.  


Sitting in a place off to the side of the table was his not so little brother Sammy. Sam was already six foot three (and probably still growing) at just 19 years old. His floppy brown hair fell in front of his eyes, the same eyes that were currently watching Dean suspiciously.  


Sir Robert, or as Dean called him, Bobby sat still in his seat in his spot across from Sam, looking almost the exact same he had 15 years ago, just with a little more belly and a lot more gray hairs.  


Dean finished out their little group as he sat at the head of the table. The older man sighed, scratching at his messy beard and spoke, "Well, what are you waiting for, boy? We ain't got all day."  


Dean smile cheekily at Bobby before starting, "Well, I'm sure you're all wondering why I've gathered you here."  


He took a deep breath, counting to three before speaking again.  


_One…Two...Three…_  


"I'm going after the lost prince."  


A collective groan rang throughout the room.  


"Not this again," Sam moaned, burying his head in his hands, while Bobby merely growled, "Boy, have you lost your mind?"  


Dean pounded his fist against the table, effectively silencing them, "Enough! I've made up my mind and nothing any of you say will change it. I’m not here to ask you for your opinions on this matter.”  


“Then why are we here?” Bobby asked annoyed.  


Dean continued, “I'm here to discuss with you how the matters of the kingdom should be handled while I'm away."  


San chewed on his lip mercilessly, while Bobby rubbed his temples.  


"Fine,” Bobby replied defeated, hunching forward in his seat as he made notes, “When do you plan to leave?"  


"By the end of the week."  


"And when do you plan on coming back?"  


Dean hesitated, long enough that Bobby growled out warningly, "You're coming back, Dean. Whether you've completed your mission or not before coronation."  


Dean waved him off, "Coronation is nine months away, I'll be back long before then."  


"And who will take care of matters within kingdom while you're away?"  


Dean shot him a look, "You will, Bobby. Just like you have been for the past three years."  


"I'm not the King," Bobby reminded him.  


"No one is," Dean spat back, bitterly.  


His father, King John, passed away three years earlier, leaving the kingdom in mourning. Bobby, the commander of the armies, had taken over security of the kingdom while Sam and Dean both split up menial tasks until Dean's coordination on his twenty-fourth birthday.  


That date was rapidly approaching, and Dean knew his window of opportunity to find his childhood friend was rapidly closing. If he wanted to keep his promise, now was his only chance.  


"Sam can take care of all of the other stuff, the boring things we usually do," Dean concluded, nodding at Sam who merely pouted in response.  


"And what do we tell people who ask where you are?"  


Dean shrugged, "I dunno, tell them I'm off in the wilderness preparing for my role as King or whatever."  


Bobby grunted, marking down a couple of things. Dean doubted he would use that excuse, but trusted that he would be able to figure something out in light of his absence.  


"Which guards are you taking with you?" Bobby asked, his eyes stuck on the paper in front of him.  


Dean hesitated before speaking, "None."  


It wasn't a surprise when all three members of the room fought back on protest.  


Dean lifted up his hands to silence them, and explained, "I'll be able to move faster if I'm on my own. I can get in, and get out. Besides, I don't necessarily want to broadcast that I'm going on this mission. To many people would try and interfere."  


Bobby rubbed his eyes, unsure what to say.  


Dean was surprised when Benny spoke behind him, "He has a point, Sir Robert. And Dean is an excellent fighter. He'll be more than capable to defend himself if needs be."  


Dean turned around, smiling brightly at Benny's confidence.  


Benny continued, "In between the two of us, there shouldn't be any trouble at all. And the trip would go by much faster..."  


"Woah, woah, woah," Dean interrupted, holding his hands out, his smile now long gone, "When I said no one, I meant no one. Not even you, Benny."  


Benny shrugged his shoulders unsympathetically, "Sorry, but that's not an option. Where you go, I go."  


Dean signed melodramatically, rolling his eyes, "You are the worst guard ever. Aren't you supposed to do what I tell you to? Not the other way around? I am the Prince..."  


"Sir Benjamin is the best damn guard you've ever had, and you know it," Bobby interrupted him.  


Dean begrudgingly nodded in agreement, while Bobby continued, "He'll go with you, or you don't go at all, and that's that."  


"I have an idea," Sam spoke up, sending a pointed look in Dean's direction, "How about you just don't go..."  


"Is there anything else?" Dean asked, ignoring his younger brother.  


Bobby shook his head, "Nah, I reckon we can get by until you get back. As long as you're back before..."  


"... Before my coronation," Dean interrupted, waving him off, "I will, Bobby. I promise."  


Bobby nodded in satisfaction before shooing the group out of his office.  


Dean hesitated at the door looking back at the man who has helped raise him.  


"Thanks Bobby," he spoke sincerely, hoping that he understood what he meant.  


Bobby merely nodded, "Stay safe son. And get outta here. The sooner you leave the sooner you get back."  


Dean nodded, laughing as he heard Bobby mutter, " _Idgit_ " beneath his breath and closed the door gently behind him. He sighed, shifting the pile of paper in his hands as he watched Sam scowling at him, his arms folded, standing on the middle of the hallway.  


"What?" Dean asked tonelessly, already knowing what argument they were about to have and wishing his little brother would just let it go.  


"Don't go," Sam said stomping after him down the hall, "I'm serious, Dean. Don't go."  


"My mind's made up," Dean replied, shuffling into his room, plopping the papers onto his desk. He'd have to review them one last time before he left.  


"Dean," Sam begged, reaching out to touch his shoulder, "This is completely ridiculous and you know it. There is no lost prince."  


"We're not discussing this, Sammy," Dean growled warningly.  


"I know you think you know what you saw, but dad said..."  


"Dad lied!" Dean shouted, throwing Sam's hand of his shoulder and turning to face the other man.  


He took several deep breaths, trying to reign in his temper, "I’m leaving whether you like it or not, Sam."  


He turned away, plopping into his seat, pulling out the sheets to glance at.  


Sam spoke through gritted teeth, "I'll never forgive you if you leave."  


Dean closed his eyes, not daring to chance a glance at his brother. He knew his brother was probably shooting his innocent wide eyed look that had swayed Dean to his side time and time again.  


Instead, a pair of bright blue eyes flashed into his mind, as clear as they had been all those years before. He couldn't afford to change his mind. Not now.  


"I'll never forgive myself if I don't," Dean breathed, listening carefully to the huff of disbelief and the slam of the door signifying Sam's departure.  


Dean slumped back into his seat, rubbing his eyes, wondering (not for the first time) whether or not he should go.  


Would Dean be able to find his way through the woods a second time? Would Cas still be there? Was the man he met when he was younger even real?  


When he and his dad had returned home all those years ago, Dean had told wanted to tell the whole kingdom that he had found the lost prince. But his dad urged him to stay quiet, telling Dean that the lost prince should be their secret.  


Dream agreed, as long as he was allowed to tell Bobby and Sam about his adventure.  


He shared his story of his time spent with the lost prince, his new friend Cas, every moment he could. He lamented about the meatless stew, the stories they shared, the quiet moments they spent sitting next to one another. He made plans for how he was going to go back and save the prince to fulfil his promise of bringing him back home to live with him.  


In the beginning, his dad supported his claims, telling him that if he wanted to accomplish his goals he needed to run faster, train harder, and become the greatest fighter there ever was. It was frustrating at first, when his dad told him he couldn’t go back because he wasn’t strong enough or even smart enough, demanding that he continued with his lessons.  


So, Dean studied until his head pounded, ran until his muscles ached, and trained using a weapons until his fingers bled. He was determined that he would keep his promise.  


It was only a few years later, when he was re-telling the story to Sammy, when his dad stumbled into the room, reeking of alcohol. He paused to listen to what Dean was saying before losing his temper.  


“ _Are you telling that damn story again?_ ” his dad had growled at him.  


Dean had nodded, unsure how he should respond when his dad was acting angry already, despite not having done anything.  


“ _Well quit it, will ya?_ ” His dad ordered, flopping down into a big armchair on the side of the room.  


“ _But why?_ ” Dean had asked his dad, trying to understand what had happened that day, “ _Why can’t I talk about it? I have to go back dad. I promised Cas…_ ”  


“ _It wasn’t real!_ ” His dad shouted at him, jumping up from his seat and lurching forward to hover over his two young sons. 

“ _It never happened. You were kidnapped and went through some serious trauma and have made up this dumb story in your head. But, enough is enough! I never want to hear you talk about this ever again!_ ”  


Dean still remembers Sam cowering in his arms, afraid of what their dad would do next. Fortunately, he simply toppled a chair over as he wobbled out of the room, cursing under his breath.  


Dean didn’t dare speak Cas’ name until three weeks later, when his dad’s response had been the same.  


He’d yelled, “ _It’s time to grow up Dean! If you’re to be King one day, you need to let go of these silly fantasies and made up stories!_ ”  


“ _They’re not fantasies!_ ” Dean had argued back, but no one believed him.  


Eventually he stopped talking about the memories he had, instead writing them down and re-reading through them each time the memory felt faint. He tried to write down every detail: what the castle looked like, what Cas was wearing, the exact vegetables they picked from the garden.  


But as time went on, Dean was horrified that certain details were escaping his memory.  


Was Cas’ hair brown or black? Were his robes purple? Or gold? Or maybe they were white?  


The only thing that remained clear in his mind were the blue in Cas’ eyes – and even that he was sure his memory didn’t do them justice.  


Despite his dad’s assurances that it had never happened, Dean was steadfast in his plans to discover the truth for himself. He knew in his heart that it hadn’t been a lie. That Cas had held him in his arms.  


He used to whisper the stories to Sam in the dark, desperately trying to hold onto them, but even he turned against Dean, telling him that Dad was right, and he needed to let go of this fantasy before it consumed him completely.  


Perhaps it already had.  


When his dad passed away, Dean had given everything he had into figuring out how he could fulfill his promise to rescuing Cas, much to Sam’s frustration and Bobby’s displeasure. The only other person who had learned about his adventures was Benny, and even he was skeptical. Fortunately, he never breathed a word of discouragement against Dean’s quest, and simply offered instead to continue helping 

Dean learn how to fight until Dean was good enough he could take on a group of eight trained soldiers and come out on top every single time.  


Dean glanced at the papers, leaning forward to look through his notes one last time, despite the fact that he had most of the information memorized.  


Maps of the dark forest were laid out before him, along with details of curses and even some about dragons. Cas had said the creature that kept him wasn’t a dragon. He’d claimed it was worse than a dragon. But, as far as Dean knew, no such thing existed.  


He poured over the materials until late in the night, falling asleep at his desk and continuing where he left off the next morning, only accepting meals when they were brought to him.  


All too soon, and yet not soon enough, Dean determined it was time for him to leave. He rifled through his pages, adding the maps he thought would be helpful and the journals full of information he had found important and packed up his bag, throwing only a couple of spare clothes in.  


He had discussed with Benny (once he accepted that the other man would be going with him whether he liked it or not) and they’d both decided they should pack and travel as light as they could. Dean left his chambers after a couple hours of sleep, already having said good-bye to Bobby earlier that day.  


He hesitated down the hall, shuffling quietly to Sam’s door, and rapped lightly against the solid wood.  


“Sammy? I thought you should know I was leaving…”  


No answer.  


Dean sighed, turning to walk away, disappointed, but not surprised. Sam had been true to his word, refusing to be anywhere near his older brother after he’d made his decision to leave. He didn’t know why he had thought that he would change his mind, just to say good-bye.  


Dean met Benny out in the stables, where their horses were already prepared and waiting for them to go. Dean smiled as he looked at his beautiful black steed, running his fingers through her long mane and whispered, “You ready to ride, baby?”  


Dean had received his horse, Impala, when he was twelve years old. The two had grown together and truly didn’t think there had been a greater horse in the existence of the world.  


He glanced over at Benny who had mounted his own horse, Harley, and joined him.  


“Ready to go?” Benny asked, smirking slightly as the sun barely started to rise off in the distance.  


“Let’s do this,” Dean answered back, bending forward to urge Impala to go forward.  


\--  


A week later they reached the town just outside of the Dark Forest. They decided to stay in an Inn that evening, heading out on foot the following morning to continue along their journey into the trees. Benny ran into the Inn to pay for a room while Dean headed across the street to send a letter back to the castle.  


He’d promised Bobby he’d let him know when he arrived, so he would have point of reference for where they were in their trip.  


On a whim, he sent a second one to Sam, hoping that he’d would at least read it before he threw it out.  


He dropped off their horses at a Pub called the Roadhouse, owned by a woman named Ellen, an old friend of Bobby’s. Dean had met her several times before as she provided the best ale in the whole land and would provide the castle with their liquor supply.  


He’d written ahead and she’d agreed to housing their horses until they return from their quest, so he wasn’t surprised when he stepped in to find the strong, brunette woman waiting for him with her arms folded in front of the stables.  


She let him in, huffing as she glanced him over, “So, you still not planning on telling me what crockpot mission you’ve decided to embark on?”  


Dean shook his head, “No ma’am.”  


She hummed, accepting his answer, despite the fact that she clearly didn’t like it.  


Dean figured the only reason she didn’t argue with him was because he was the crowned prince.  


He walked inside the pub with her, waving at Benny who had just entered into the building, holding up the key to their room.  


“It’s ready when you are,” he informed him.  


Dean shrugged his coat off his shoulders and replied, “Let’s stay for a drink, rest up a bit. The next few weeks are probably going to get rough.”  


Benny snorted, muttering under his breath about that being an understatement, but obliged, settling into the seat next to Dean.  


They both got a pint of ale from Jo, Ellen’s pretty daughter, and sat in silence, glancing around the room. His father had made sure that his sons were kept out of the public’s eye, so most people didn’t recognize him until he gave his name. This was another reason he’d wanted to travel alone and travel light. He figured it would work to his benefit to have as few as many people acknowledge that he was the soon to be king.  


He knew it was risky leaving the castle, especially so close to his crowning day. If he was killed, then Sam would be the next one in line to take up the throne, something he wouldn’t be able to do for at least a few years.  


But, if this worked…if he was successful…  


The benefits would far outweigh the risks.  


“You think I’m crazy?” Dean asked suddenly, nodding at his friend sitting across from him.  


Benny took a sip of his drinking, thinking long and hard before responding, “Yeah. But, not about this.”  


Dean snorted, accepting the answer for what it was, and appreciating that no matter what happened, at least he had Benny on his side.  


“How’s Andrea doing?” Dean asked, referring to Benny’s wife, back at home, “She okay with you leaving?”  


Benny shrugged, “She wasn’t thrilled, but she understands it’s my job.”  


He went on to talk about the business she was thinking of starting when a third person plopped down at their table.  


Benny immediately straightened, cutting off his sentence and sat tense, waiting to see if he needed to attack this newcomer.  


Dean merely raised an eyebrow, gazing over the hunched figure of the man beside him.  


“I heard you two were planning on going into the dark forest,” he accused, looking in between the two of them.  


“Who told you that?” Benny asked, his voice tight and hard.  


The third man straightened up, running his fingers through his light colored hair to mat it down.  


“I’m Lord Bartholomew, and I’ll be asking the questions here.”  


Dean shot an amused glance at Benny, racking through his brain at where Lord Bartholomew was originally from and spoke up before 

Benny could answer back, “I’m sorry about my companion over here, he has some trust issues.”  


He winked at Benny who glared in return and continued, “What do you need, Bart?”  


Bartholomew growled, “You will address me by my proper title, as I am ahead of your station.”  


Dean smiled wider, laughing at the pompous attitude of the Lord, and wishing he could reveal who he was.  


“Nah,” Dean shrugged, sitting back in his chair, ignoring Batholomew’s look of indignation, “You see? You need something from me, Bart. You wouldn’t be talking to us lowly folk otherwise. So, I’m gonna call you what I want, and you’re gonna tell me what you want.”  


Bart frowned, thinking through these terms before deciding he was desperate enough and answered, “You will escort me through the dark forest, until I reach the location I desire.”  


“Will we now?” Benny replied flatly, not liking be told what he has to do.  


“Yes, you will,” he confirmed boldly, standing up from his seat, “We will meet outside the local inn at sunrise.”  


He turned to march out, both Dean and Benny watching him carefully.  


“Was he serious?” Benny asked after a moment, shock still etched onto his face.  


Dean laughed clasping his hand against his friend’s back, “I think he was.”  


Benny groaned, “Ugh, royalty.”  


“Hey,” Dean tried to argue, before shrugging and accepting that yes, sometimes even he was difficult to work with.  


They retired for the evening, waking up early in the morning and gathered their stuff together, grateful when Ellen left them a bag of food to take along with them on their journey.  


They forgot all about the interaction they had had the night before, so it was a surprise to see Bart standing outside the Inn waiting for them with a pile of things sitting next to him.  


“You're late," he huffed, annoyed as Dean and Benny looked at him incredulously, "No matter. Grab my things and we’ll be on our way,” he ordered, turning to march up the road.  


Dean merely scoffed, stopping him in his place, “Yeah, not gonna happen, rich boy. You wanna go into the dark forest, you carry your own things. Which brings me to the point that you’re not going.”  


Him and Benny stepped past the pile heading up towards the road.  


“How dare you!” Bart yelled back, frantically looking through his things to try and pick up as much stuff as he possibly could, “You have no rights…”  


“Actually,” Dean intercepted, “We have all the rights. The Dark forest is lawless country. No rules, no status, nothing.”  


They continued walking, annoyed when they heard the shuffling footsteps follow behind them.  


“You will guide me,” Bart tried ordering one last time.  


“Why do you need to go through the forest so bad?” Dean asked exasperatedly.  


They were wasting time.  


“It’s none of your concern…” he tried.  


Benny laughed, “Hate to break it to ya, but if you expect to tag along, it’s entirely our concern.”  


Bart looked in between the two men, before sighing and admitting, “I’ve heard rumors of great riches lying in the midst of the dark forest. I’m going to find it and bring it back to my kingdom.”  


Dean surprised himself when he growled and bit back, “No.”  


He turned and walked away, pleased when Benny followed behind him, leaving the pompous Bart behind.  


He was displeased when Bart yelled after them, scrambling over his things as he tried to follow them.  


“Sir,” Benny started under his breath.  


“I said no,” Dean interjected.  


He continued on into the forest, vaguely aware that Bart was following along behind them, but was able to tune him out. He and Benny talked about their plans for camp, refreshing different training techniques and strategies that could be used in war, and even spoke fondly of the family they left behind.  


When they made camp that night, Dean was exasperated to discover that Bart had kept up with them, collapsing in front of their fire, his bags (which had significantly diminished throughout the day) sprawled out next to him.  


“I…think…we…got…off…on…the…wrong…foot…” he gasped as he tried to catch his breath.  


Dean watched him carefully, wondering if the other man was going to fall over and collapse in front of them at any moment.  


Bart sobered up for a moment, catching his breath and asked, “Would you please guide me?”  


Dean rolled his eyes, “No.”  


Bart sputtered, “Bu-bu-but I said _please_!”  


Benny snorted, while Dean answered, “Sorry, bud. No can do. We got our own mission we gotta follow through with.”  


Bart’s shoulders visibly drooped, “I will simply tag along with you then, until I find what I desire.”  


Dean growled in frustration. He opened his mouth to declare himself as the prince and order the other to go home, when Benny spoke up, “One condition: we tell you to do something, you do it. We say run, you go as fast as you can. We tell you to hide, you find a place where no one will find you. We’re trained fighters and it would be in your best interest to do as we say. Got it?”  


Bart nodded, his eyes wide, “Yes, of course. That is amenable.”  


“Benny,” Dean spoke through gritted teeth, “Can I talk to you over there?”  


Benny nodded, standing up and following Dean a ways away from the fire where Bart won’t overhear them.  


“What are you doing?” Dean asked disbelievingly.  


“I’m sorry for not consulting you first, Sir, but I think it would be unwise for you to reveal who you were now?”  


“And why the hell not?” Dean asked, “It’d be the easiest way to get rid of him.”  


Benny shook his head, “Because then I think he would return to the village and announce to the Kingdom that the crowned prince is wondering through the dark forest. We’re trying to keep a low profile here, remember? The fewer people that know who you are, the better.”  


Dean groaned, rubbing the back of his neck, “Alright, fine. But if he annoys me, even once, I’m ordering his execution the second we get back.”  


“I understand, sire,” Benny answered amusedly.  


They returned to their logs by the fire, when Bart asked, “I realized I never received your names. I believe you were called Benny?”  


Benny nodded, shooting a glance at Dean when Bart asked, “And you are?”  


Dean hesitated for a moment before answering, “Michael.”  


He knew he couldn’t give up his name now. There weren’t many Dean’s in the kingdom, and it would run a risk that he would recognize him as the prince if he told him now. It was easier just to use the fake name in place until they would get rid of their third companion.  


“Benny and Michael,” Bart repeated, “And what are you two doing wandering in the dark forest.”  


“None of your business,” Dean growled, tearing a piece of dried meat in his mouth.  


“But…” Bart started.  


Benny cut in, “There’s no need for you to know our business.”  


Bart wisely kept his mouth shut and the rest of the evening was spent in awkward silence.  


\--  


The next few weeks were excruciating for Dean. Bart was constantly in his business, trying to direct him to go in a different direction than where they were headed.  


Dean simply yelled at him to shut up, threatening to make the other man a eunuch if he didn’t but out. Bart wisely chose not to speak up about the directions again.  


They wandered through the forest, barely deviating from the main pathway, until they reached an old overturned carriage.  


“Here,” Dean said excitedly, pointing to the vehicle.  


Flashes of their caravan being raided zoomed through his mind; the sounds of the swords clanking against one another as men fought as clear as it had been sixteen years prior. Dean walked up the road a bit, blessing the silence that followed, and pointed into the distance a ways off the main path.  


“It’s this way,” Dean concluded, stepping into the woods in that direction, “I know it is.”  


“Are you crazy?” Bart gasped, watching to two in horror as they began their trek deeper into the woods, “You’re going off the path? You’re going to get us all lost and killed.”  


“You more than welcome to follow the path back into town, Bart,” Dean called back, pressing forward.  


They were getting close; he could feel it with a surety he never thought was possible.  


It was almost as if the pathway was lit up in his mind, showing him where he needed to go.  


They trudged through in silence until Benny spoke up softly, “Are you sure this is the way?”  


Dean nodded, his eyes focusing through the fog that started to block their view, preventing them from seeing farther than a couple of feet in front of them. It took the better part of an hour, wandering through the thick fog, thick enough that Bart had held onto Benny who was holding onto Dean so they didn’t get separated before they ran into a black gate.  


Dean looked at the gate, his mouth dropping in awe as he knelt in front of it, running his fingers reverently over the cold material.  


“This is it,” he whispered, daring a look up at Benny who was staring back in shock.  


He opened the gate, not surprised when the fog immediately dissipated, leaving the tall castle looming plainly in view.  


“Do you see the size of this castle?” Bart spoke excitedly from behind them, “Do you think anyone lives here? Can you imagine how much gold is inside?”  


He turned to the other two and spoke, “Since I am the highest ruling member, I think I should be the one to announce our presence.”  


He bounded off racing eagerly towards the front doors, lifting his hand to knock against the steel.  


Dean’s eyes narrowed, following quickly after the other, with Benny close behind him.  


They arrived to the entrance, just as the door was opening.  


Bart stared at the man in the doorway, blocking Dean’s view and spoke, “My beautiful liege. I am Lord Bartholomew and I am here…”  


The man spoke, cutting him off, and answered in a gravelly voice that filled Dean’s chest, “I apologize, but I will not be accepting any suitors today. Please return home.”  


Bart scoffed at the other, his hand dropping, allowing the man inside to begin to close the door. Desperate not to let this moment go, Dean pushed Bart out of the way, lifting up his hand to stop the door from closing.  


“How about accepting an old friend?” Dean asked cheekily, stepping to the side so he could catch a full view of the man that had graced his dreams since he was a child.  


Dean’s heart fluttered as he gazed at him, confirming that his memory certainly hadn’t given justice to just how beautiful this man was. Memories of those few days they spent together flashed back into his mind, and he smiled, knowing without a doubt that the older man hadn’t changed one bit.  


His pitch black hair still stuck straight out, his stubble caused a seemingly permanent shadow against his face, his blue eyes more piercing than anything he could imagine.  


He was completely breath-taking.  


“I’m sorry,” he spoke slowly, tilting his head to the side and squinting lightly, “Who are you?”  


Dean merely smiled in response, stepping forward to wrap his arms around the other man, holding him tightly. He wasn’t alarmed when Cas didn’t return his hug, knowing he looked much different now than he had when they’d first met.  


So, he simply held on tight and whispered in the other man’s ear, “Heya Cas. It’s been a while.”  


He leaned back slightly, so he could see Cas’ eyes widening in disbelief.  


He opened his mouth several times before squeaking out, “Dean?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there's anyone who thought that this was too easy, there's a reason for that, I promise. Plus, things are definitely going to get more difficult for these boys in the future.
> 
> Thank you all again for your lovely comments and kudos! You are all shining beacons and I'm grateful for the love you've shared with me. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you once again for your comments and kudos! When I get discouraged about writing, your words really lift up my spirit! 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

“You gonna let me in?” Dean asked, stepping back to give Cas some space.  


Cas nodded numbly, shuffling off to the side as he allowed Dean and the others to step into the castle. His eyes stayed focused on Dean’s face as though he were afraid the other man would disappear if he even blinked.  


The two locked eyes, lost in the other’s gaze.  


Dean was so giddy, he could jump for joy.  


He did it.  


He actually fucking did it.  


“You came back,” Cas breathed out, as his hand lifted up to clutch an amulet that hung loosely beneath his robes.  


Dean smiled brightly pointing to the piece of jewelry Cas was clutching onto, “You kept the necklace I gave you.”  


Cas nodded, replying reverently, “You kept your promise.”  


Dean’s smile softened as he lifted his hand up to Cas’ face, the pad of his thumb rubbing against the scratchy stubble that covered this other man’s cheek. He held Cas’ head there, eyes still holding onto the blue that stared back at him and wondered how the hell he had gotten so lucky.  


Dean stepped closer, his own green gaze leaning in closer to the blue orbs that captured him so fully.  


Why had he waited so long to come?  


A cough broke their gaze, causing both men to jump lightly at the obtrusive noise. Dean frowned, turning towards the cause of their interruption to find Bart standing a mere few feet away, his hands balled up into tight fists and a childish pout on his lips.  


“I’m sorry, but I’m confused.” Bart said annoyed, glaring in between both Dean and Cas who were far too close into each other’s personal space to be considered casual, “What’s going on here?”  


Cas stumbled back a step, his eyes wide as though it just registered in his mind that he and Dean weren’t the only two people in the room at that moment.  


He turned to Dean, an apologetic look on his face and asked, “I’m sorry, are these your…” he hesitated, glancing quickly at both Benny and Bart before concluding, “friends?”  


Dean simply shrugged, unconcerned about the other two and secretly hoped they’d be able to get rid of the other two men fairly soon so he could have Cas to himself, and answered, “Benny is, but the other guy is just a stray we picked up.”  


Bart sputtered, “Just a stray? This all is highly improper and incredibly offensive.”  


He turned to Castiel, hands on his hips and ordered, “Who are you?”  


Cas glanced over at Dean, an eyebrow raised.  


Dean ducked his head, sheepishly, knowing that this entire situation was quite strange.  


After a long minute, when it was clear neither Cas nor Dean were planning on answering, Benny spoke up, “His name is Castiel and he’s the Lost Prince.”  


Dean swore he could see money signs flash in the Lord’s eyes as Bart’s jaw dropped in response.  


“The lost prince you say?” he asked, greedily, turning to look at Cas with a predatory look in his eyes.  


He jumped forward, pushing Dean further away from Castiel and crowded into the Prince’s space.  


Cas’ eyes widened as Bart grabbed his hands into his own and said, “My Prince, I request the chance to fight for your hand in marriage and to save you from this prison you find yourself in.”  


Dean scoffed, folding his arms tight against his chest, displeased at the sight of _his Castiel’s_ hand being held by someone other than himself.  


Stupid Bartholomew.  


He didn’t deserve Cas’s hand in marriage. His childhood friend was much too good for him.  


Cas opened his mouth slightly, glancing at Dean’s expression of distaste, and pulled his hands out of Bart’s tight grasp, stepping back, “I’m sorry, but as I mentioned before, I am not currently looking for suitors. Besides,” he hesitated, thinking to himself carefully before pressing forward, “shouldn’t you be asking for permission first?”  


Bart scoffed, “Who would I ask for permission? I am the Lord of my lands. I have every right to ask for your hand in marriage.”  


Cas squinted, nodding in Dean’s direction.  


Bart caught his gesture and laughed, “Who, Michael?”  


Dean grumbled, trying to remember why he’d allowed this annoying man to tag along with them as they traveled here.  


Cas shook his head, looking more confused than he had before, “I apologize, but I’m not entirely sure who Michael is. I am referring to you asking Dean for permission.”  


"Why do you keep calling him that?" Bart asked suspiciously, "He told me his name was Michael."  


Cas turned to Dean with pleading eyes, silently requesting Dean to jump in.  


Sighing, Dean knew he couldn't refuse Cas' wordless request and spoke up, "Did I say Michael? My mistake. My actual name is Dean."  


Bart's face turned red as he spluttered at the admission, "You lied to me?"  


He turned back to Castiel and asked in outrage, “Why would I ask this liar for permission?”  


Cas tilted his head to the side and spoke confidently, "I believe in your culture it is customary to defer to the highest ranked member of royalty. As Dean is the crowned Prince, he holds the highest authority, save for the King himself.”  


Cas turned to Dean and asked a little more timidly, “Or has that changed?”  


Dean simply smiled sheepishly in response, rubbing the back of his neck, and shrugging, “Ah, yeah, you’re right.”  


Bart’s jaw dropped as he stuttered, “You’re…you’re the…”  


Dean smiled cheekily at Bart, “Hi, Prince Dean here. Did I fail to mention that before as well?”  


Bart’s face turned pale as he struggled with breath for a moment, before turning to Benny and accusing, “And what about you? Who are you supposed to be?”  


“His personal guard,” Benny replied, cautiously looking in between the three, assessing for any problems that may arise.  


Bart started swaying in his spot, “I…I thought…I…”  


His eyes rolled back in his head as his limbs gave out and he tumbled down onto the floor.  


Cas quickly rushed forward to help the man, so Dean begrudgingly followed, listening as Cas apologized profusely, “I’m sorry, I thought he knew…”  


Dean waved him off, grunting as he and Cas turned Bart’s body so he was lying on his back.  


“Don’t worry about it. He was going to find out eventually.”  


“Shall I retrieve some oils to help awaken him?” Cas asked concerned.  


“Nah,” Dean answered, relishing the peace and quiet they were finally granted with now that Bart was unconscious, “Maybe just, put him somewhere he can sleep it off.”  


Cas frowned, but nodded, “We can place him in one of the bedrooms. Would you...”  


Benny stepped forward, answering before Dean could, “I can carry him.”  


“Thank you,” Cas responded sincerely, allowing Benny to pick up the blacked out man.  


They followed Cas up a flight of stairs and down a few hallways before he stopped at a small, cozy room with warm red and brown undertones.  


“He can stay in here until he is feeling better,” Cas said, holding the door open for Benny as he walked into the room and deposited Bart onto the small bed.  


The three stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind and looked towards Dean to see what they should do next.  


“Uh,” Dean hesitated, making a quick decision in his mind before instructing Benny, “Why don’t you hang out here with Bart until he wakes up. Make sure he doesn’t go into shock or anything and we’ll, I mean, Cas and I, will, uh, meet up with you a little later.”  


Benny nodded, accepting this task and sat down on the floor next to the door, ready to keep a look-out.  


Cas frowned down at Benny and asked, “Will you be alright? Do you need anything?”  


Benny shook his head, leaning his back against the wall, “No thank you, Prince Castiel. I’ll be fine right where I am. Someone’s gotta make sure Bart here doesn’t get into any trouble.”  


Dean sighed in relief and knew that Benny had understood his underlying message of: _make sure he doesn’t steal anything_. The last thing they wanted was Bart stealing several bagfuls of Castiel’s possessions.  


Benny continued, “You and Prince Dean go off and reacquaint with one another.”  


Cas nodded seriously, “If you need anything, we’ll be in my quarters on the other side of the hallway.”  


Cas turned smiling shyly at Dean before walking forward to lead him to his own room.  


“Thank you, Benny,” Dean quickly whispered, while the man simply winked and gave him a thumbs up.  


Butterflies filled his stomach as he followed Cas straight down the hall, entering into the room he remembered from when he was a child. It was just as he remembered it being, only so much better. Each detail, each memory, rushed back into his mind vividly as he glanced around to take in the large bed with blue sheets, the small kitchenette area in the corner, and bookshelves full of stories he recalled Cas reading to him when he think of anymore from his childhood.   


“Everything is exactly as I remember it,” Dean chuckled as he picked up a book from the table and flipping mindlessly through the pages while Cas followed in behind him, clicking the door closed softly.  


He turned to Cas who was leaning against his closed door, staring in shock at the sight of Dean in his bedroom.  


He whispered, “You came back," as though his mind was having trouble grasping the concept.  


Perhaps he was; Dean could barely believe it himself.  


“Yeah, Cas,” Dean answered, stepping closer to the other man cautiously, “I did.”  


Cas caught Dean off guard as he took a large step forward and crashed his chest into Dean’s, his hands reaching forward until they were able to clutch onto the fabric of his tunic. He lifted up his head, pressing it into the crook of Dean’s neck and nuzzled the skin there, sighing happily as his body relaxed into their embrace.  


It was surreal that this man, the one he had dreamed about for the past sixteen years, was standing here comfortably in his arms.  


Dean took the chance to glance down at Cas, really looking him over in a way he wasn’t able to before when they had had an audience. When he was a kid, he remembered thinking Cas was so much older than him, so much more mature. He had marveled at the man’s height and deep voice, wondering if he was going to grow up to look as big and strong as Cas was.  


But now, with Cas resting in his grip, he marveled at how pure Cas actually was. There didn’t appear to be a single blemish on his lean body. He was smaller than Dean, shorter by several inches with a lean body. But, he appeared strong enough that Dean wouldn’t worry about him being able to hold his own in a fight.  


Dean closed his eyes, his grip tightening around Cas’ body, pulling him even closer than he was before so their bodies were completely flush against the other’s and breathed in deeply, enjoying the smell of grass and tea and rainwater that emanated from Cas.  


There was something inherently intoxicating about this other man, something that had drawn Dean in when he was just a child. Back then he had barely understood the facts of life, seeing everything in black and white and held onto the truths he’d come up with in his own mind. As a child, he knew that Cas was good. He saw Cas’ beauty and he never wanted to part from it.  


Over the years, when he thought back on these desires, he chalked it down to simply finding a friend and wanting to help them. After all, as the crowned Prince, finding friends was a lot more difficult than one might expect. He enjoyed Cas’ company and wanted him to be around all the time.  


He had never imagined that his perspective would change. But, standing here with Cas’s breath against his neck and Dean’s chin resting against the man’s black hair, he knew he couldn’t simply be this man’s friend.  


He wanted more.  


He thought of Bart’s desire to ask for Cas’ hand in marriage and forced a growl that threatened to come out back down into his chest.  


He wasn’t sure what to do with these primal urges that seemed to consume his body. He knew his resolve wouldn’t last much longer if his body stayed pressed up against Cas’ and he forced himself to loosen his grip.  


Cas looked up, his wide eyes curious and Dean resisted the urge to press his lips against Cas' cheek. He desperately longed to feel Cas’ rough stubble against his own soft lips.  


Instead, lifted up his hand, allowing his finger to trace the skin along the edge of Cas’ jaw.  


"You look the exact same," Dean marveled, "How is it that you look the exact same?"  


Cas blushed, looking down at the floor before glancing up to look at Dean through his dark lashes, "I can’t say the same about you. You've grown quite a bit, my little Prince."  


Dean chuckled lightly to himself.  


"Yeah," Dean answered, smiling cheekily, "That's what normally happens when sixteen years has passed."  


Cas looked surprised, "Has it been sixteen years?"  


Dean frowned, "Yeah, it has. How did you not notice? Sixteen years is a long time…”  


Cas shrugged turning his head as responded, “When you’re living behind these walls, doing the same things day in and day out, you find that the days blend in with one another and time suddenly seems unimportant.”  


Dean’s heart ached, imagining how frustrated Cas must have been for all of these years locked away with no one to talk to, nothing new to do.  


“I'm sorry I couldn't come sooner,” Dean apologized, his finger sliding up to Cas’ forehead to trace the edge of his hairline, “I ran into...complications."  


Cas pulled out of Dean’s embrace, much to his disappointment. He frowned until Cas grabbed his hand pulling him over to the bed and climbing on top, nodding at Dean to follow after him. Dean’s heart pounded as he joined him on the bed, both of them adjusting so their backs were resting against the head board, their sides pressed close into each other’s.  


"What complications?" Cas asked worriedly as he situated himself on the bed, "Are you okay?"  


Dean smiled to himself, happy that Cas was so concerned with his well-being. He reached over and grabbed Cas's hand, holding it in his own. He ignored Cas’ question in lieu of tracing the lines on the inside of Cas’ palm and brushing lightly against the dark blue veins on his forearms.  


He smiled as he felt Cas' goose bumps beneath his skin and answered honestly, "I am now."  


Cas tilted his head, visibly conflicted as he tried to decide if he wanted Dean to elaborate or if he was satisfied with his answer.  


Deciding he needed to know more, he started to ask, "What happened? How did you..."  


Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to finish his question. They were interrupted with a sharp knock at the door before it was flung open to reveal Bart standing at the entrance with Benny standing a few feet behind, a deep scowl on the guard's face.  


"Excuse me, your Majesty," Bart started, bowing his head slightly, "but I request an audience."  


Dan frowned, catching a glimpse at Benny before answering, "Request granted."  


Bart stepped into the room, dropping to his knees, his head still bowed, "I must apologize profusely, my Lord. I did not recognize you. Had I, I would not have tried to order you around. I merely ask that you dole out a light sentence for my punishment, as it is something I assure you will not happen again."  


Dean shifted uncomfortably in his seat, "Uh, yeah sure."  


Dean’s mind raced through all the things he could do to punish Bart when his traitorous stomach chose to announce itself loudly and obnoxiously.  


Cas' eyes widened as they trailed down to stare at Dean’s stomach. He scrambled from the bed, "You're probably starving after traveling all this way, and I didn't offer you anything to eat. Please, forgive me. I don't know where my manners went."  


Dean jumped up after him, holding his hands out in a placating gesture, "No worries, Cas. Seriously. We're fine."  


Bart opened his mouth, probably too protest that he wasn’t fine, but was silenced with a pointed look from Benny. Dean's stomach growled a second time, causing Cas' frown to deepen further.  


"You're clearly not fine, Dean," he concluded.  


Dean shrugged sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck and admitting, "Well, I may be a little hungry."  


"I'll cook something up for you to eat," Cas determined, turning to Benny and Bart to ask politely, "Would either of you like something as well?"  


Benny began to shake his head, ready to assure him they could fend for themselves (and to allow Dean some more alone time with Cas), but Bart blurted out, "Yes, please. That would be fantastic."  


Benny begrudgingly agreed that food did sound pretty good.  


“Of course,” Cas nodded, turning back to Dean, “I can put together something quickly so you don’t have to suffer for too much longer.”  


"Why don’t I help you," Dean offered eagerly, pleased when he was rewarded with one of Cas' small smiles.  


"Absolutely not!" Bart interjected, horrified at his suggestion, "It is unbecoming for the future King to be preparing food for his subjects."  


He stepped forward, passing Dean in favor of grabbing Cas’ hand into his own once again, "My lost Prince, allow me to aid you as we prepare a meal fit for his Majesty."  


Benny snorted, "With that logic, Prince Castiel here shouldn't be preparing a meal either. Are you offering to cook for the rest of us?"  


Bart's mouth opened, as he gaped at Benny, stuttering to think of a reply.  


Cas came to his rescue, answering diplomatically, "I appreciate the sentiment, but I am more than happy to cook for my guests. Anyone who wishes to help is welcome."  


He stepped back, releasing Bart's hold on him and stood next to Dean, their sides pressed lightly against each other’s, "Shall we walk down to the greenhouse?"  


Dean nodded, happily extending his arm to escort the beautiful man beside him to wherever he needed to go. He was thrilled when Cas easily accepted it.  


He allowed Cas to lead, knowing he wouldn't remember where the greenhouse was, content in the comfort their silence brought.  


Dean was annoyed when they arrived, although admittedly unsurprised, to hear Bart speak up, immediately dominating the conversation (or lack thereof). He bragged about himself, going through a long list of his own accomplishments throughout the years (several of which Dean suspected he had fabricated or embellished to make himself sound more impressive) and naming the assets of his family’s land.  


At one point, Dean wasn’t entirely sure who Bart was trying to impress: him, the crowned Price and future King, or Castiel, the Lost Prince and someone he desired.  


Perhaps he wasn’t trying to impress either and merely like the sound of his own voice.  


In any case, his non-stop talking combined with the lack of help (he had blatantly refused to help pick any of the vegetables, stating that he simply didn’t know how, which Dean thought was bull shit, the man just didn’t want to get dirty), left Dean on edge.  


Dean opened his mouth several times to order the man to shut up and take a hike, but seemed to catch Cas' twinkling eyes before he did every time. Cas would merely shake his head in amusement and continue on with his tasks as he politely listened to the rambling man chatter away.  


Dean had no clue where his prince got his patience from, but he suspected it had something to do with the fact that he had been on his own for years.  


There were a few moments when Dean worried that perhaps Cas favored Bart over himself. He was, after all, listening to every word the other man spoke.  


But then Castiel would unknowingly calm his fears by simply handing him a zucchini, allowing his fingers to linger against his own. A little while later, he would place his hand on the small of Dean’s back as he leaned over him, pointing out which herbs were ready to be picked, his breath tickling the side of his cheek.  


Dean, Cas, and Benny (who had also been given the task of holding the basket they placed their bounty in) happily picked what they needed before Cas declared they had enough.  


He led them out of the Greenhouse (with Dean escorting him once again, much to Bart’s obvious displeasure), guiding them down a side hall to a large kitchen Dean hadn’t noticed before.  


Once there, Cas assigned each of them a task.  


Benny was in charge of helping Castiel cook. Dean had mentioned that Benny was an excellent chef and had experience cooking when he was a child. Dean was instructed to start chopping the vegetables and prepping the food they Cas.  


To Dean’s delight, Bart was ordered to wash all of the vegetables, preparing them for Dean.  


Upon receiving this order, Bart had looked as though he were about to protest, but eventually gave in, resigning himself to the benign task.  


The conversation in the kitchen was much more pleasant to listen to than the one in the Greenhouse.  


This time, Dean listened as Cas spoke with Benny about what life was like in the Winchester kingdom, asking him about his wife and whether or not they were trying for children. Cas listened intently as Benny talked about his training for the guard and what his everyday tasks as Dean's personal guard included. Cas was always sure to follow up with plenty of questions, eager to learn everything.  


Dean considered jumping into their conversation, but decided he was content listening to the two, relieved when it was apparent that Benny not only approved but actually seemed to like Cas.  


Of course, Dean didn’t actually need Benny’s approval on whether or not Cas was good. But, the burly man had been his friend and companion, as well as his personal guard, for so long that Dean found his opinion valuable. To see him getting along with Cas and able to see the good that Dean saw in his was refreshing.  


Really, he was mostly just relieved that there was someone else who now knew the truth.  


When dinner was finished cooking, Benny dished out the bowls, offering to carry Cas' for him to Dean’s amusement.  


Dean gasped and stated in mock offense, "You never offer to carry my things."  


Benny simply rolled his eyes, choosing not to answer Dean’s regards and instead followed the prince out into a nice dining room.  


The large dining room look remarkably similar to the one he had in his own castle, which made Dean wonder if they all looked about the same. Filled with gaudy chandeliers, old suits of armor, and a table that was able to sit at least 30 people, the room felt bare and impersonal. Dean wished that he could whisk Cas away back to his bedroom and eat dinner alone in there.  


Instead, Cas instructed Dean to sit in one of the seats at the head of the table, telling Benny to sit in the seat off to his right and offering across from him to Bart.  


Dean was more than pleased when Castiel sat down into the seat next to Dean at the head of the table where a spouse would normally sit.  


He was even happier when he took in the little scowl that rose on Bart’s face as he acknowledged the seating arrangement.  


Dinner passed by fairly quickly, with the occasional comment thrown out about the quality of the food or the intermittent questions asked here or there that Cas hadn’t thought to ask before.  


When they were finished, it wasn’t a surprise when Bart jumped up, offering out his arm for Cas to accept and asked if he could escort Cas to the drawing room for tea.  


Cas hesitated, standing up from his own chair and took a step closer to Dean. He answered politely, "Thank you for the offer, Lord Bartholomew, but I think it would be prudent for you to retire for the evening. You have had quite an eventful day."  


Bart opened his mouth to protest, but Cas cut him off before he could speak, "I insist."  


Smirking at the man's pout, feeling as though he had won despite that he hadn’t said anything, Dean turned to Benny, "Why don't you make sure he makes it to his room all right."  


Benny bowed his head slightly, hiding the smirk on his lips, "Of course, your Majesty."  


Bart nodded, his face scrunched up as though he were in pain, and forced himself to copy Benny’s action and bowed briefly before he stormed out of the room, his held high with his wounded pride. Benny shot one last look at the two, mumbling a quick good night before jogging after the upset man.  


"I think I may have hurt his feelings," Cas said unapologetically as they watched his retreating figure, surprising Dean as he slipped his arm through his own, leaning closer into his side.  


"He'll survive," Dean chuckled elatedly, walking Cas slowly back to his room. Their bodies gravitated back towards his bed, positioning themselves much the same they had before Dean's stomach announced its presence, with their backs against the head board and their sides pressed close together.  


Cas watched Dean as he continued where he had left off, running his finger down the dark veins in his arm, stopping when he reached the man’s bracelet. He leaned in to try and look at the gold jewelry more closely, tracing against the ridges that stood out slightly.  


"What does it mean?" Dean asked, lifting up Cas' hand so he could look at the etchings more closely, trying to decipher what they scribbles were trying to say.  


"It's Enochian," Cas answered, "My native language."  


"What's it say?" Dean asked again, looking up into Cas’ eyes.  


Cas hesitated before admitting, "It's words to offer up protection for whoever wears it."  


Dean frowned, thinking about how Cas was kidnapped and stuck behind these cold dark castle walls and concluded, "I don't think it's working."  


Cas merely hummed in response.  


They sat in silence for another minute, and Dean’s heart pounded in his chest at the closeness of their bodies. His mind turned back to the thoughts he had had before when they two were hugging. He wanted to hold Cas, to feel everywhere he could feel. He needed to be with him, both mentally and physically.  


Taking a deep breath, Dean decided to take a chance and slowly intertwined their fingers together so their hands were clasped tightly, resting their joint hands on his lap. He sighed in relief when Cas’ hold tightened against his own, signaling that he was okay with this.  


Cas stared at their joint fingers, his head tilted to the side as though he were confused about something and asked, “How did you find me?”  


Dean shrugged, thinking back to his travels to the castle, and answered, "I made a promise that I intended to keep. So, for the past sixteen years, I’ve spent every waking moment preparing for the moment I would come back to you."  


"Yes, but how?” Cas asked frustrated, “How did you navigate through the forest? Or how did you even remember me in the first place?"  


Dean frowned, lifting up his free hand to cup Cas' face, pulling it closer to his own, "I could never forget you, Cas."  


Cas whimpered at the contact, leaning in to Dean’s touch. He opened his mouth to speak, but Dean cut him off before he could. He wasn’t exactly sure how he had done it, he just did.  


"None of that matters now,” Dean assured Cas, stroking his jaw line while he leaned in closer, his breath hovering over the other man’s skin, “What matters is that I'm here now, and I've come to take you home."  


He gave into his temptations and bent forward to kiss the side of Cas' cheek, taking a moment to just enjoy the feel of the scruff against his soft lips.  


It was even better than he imagined.  


When he leaned back, he looked back to Cas, surprised to see the other man frowning back at him.  


“Cas," Dean began hesitantly, "What's..."  


Cas shook his head, breaking their gaze to stare down at the bed, stopping Dean in his tracks. He took a deep breath before looking up, his face completely void of any and all emotion. Startled, Dean’s mind barely registered when Cas removed his hand from Dean’s grip, scooting off of the bed and standing straight.  


Dean watched, his jaw dropped slightly as Cas finally spoke in a flat voice, "I'm afraid I won't be able to do that."  


"Do what?" Dean asked confused, scooting to the edge of the bed to be closer to Cas, trying to keep the other man in his eyesight at all times.  


What was going on?  


Just a moment before they had been so happy, sitting on the bed, pressed up against each other.  


Why was Cas pulling away?   


"Leave." Cas clarified, furthering Dean’s confusion, "I cannot leave the castle with you. As I mentioned to Bart earlier, I am currently not looking for suitors. I thank you for your request, but I cannot accept it at this time."  


Dean's heart crashed in his chest as the words hung heavy in his mind.  


Before he could even considering protesting, Cas walked over towards the door, opening it up widely and gesturing out into the hall.  


"You should retire for the night," he spoke softly, "There are several rooms that should be fitting for you. You are more than welcome to pick whichever one fits your fancy. You and your party can make your leave in the morning."  


Dean stood on his shaking legs, his knuckles white as they reached out to cling onto the bed post for stability, his mind reeling to understand what Cas was telling him.  


He didn't want to leave.  


He didn't want Dean.  


Dean nodded, words failing him, and shuffled through the door. His mind and body were numb in shock.  


How had this happened? He had been so sure…  


He glanced back over his shoulder, opening his mouth to say something, _anything_ , but Cas shut the door before he could, blocking him out from the room he desperately longed to be in.  


Dean walked stiffly to the room next door, clicking the door lightly behind him and collapsed onto the large bed.  


Cas didn't want him.  


He didn't know what he expected. Sure, he was a Prince who was about to become a King, but there was nothing special about him. Nothing that would entice someone as good and beautiful as Cas.  


Why would Cas want him?  


He couldn't even feel angry at the other man, deciding to respect his decision to stay no to him.  


As he closed his eyes, a single tear ran down his cheek. To stop the rest that threatened to pour out, he buried his face deep into the pillow on the cold, hard bed.  


\--  


Dean sat in the dining room, poking at the eggs that Benny had cooked up, a permanent frown on his face, and dark black bags deep beneath his eyes. He hadn't been able to sleep the previous night, his mind still reeling from Castiel’s rejection.  


He had refused to talk to Benny about it that morning when he asked how his night had gone. It wasn’t any of his guard’s business to know how Dean had failed. After all, what did that say about him?  


Clearly, Castiel did not have the same sort of attachment to him that he had gained when he met him as a child.  


He considered briefly following Castiel's advice and just leaving first thing that morning, embarrassed by his rejection the previous night, but quickly against it.   


But, he couldn’t leave.  


Not now.  


He was so close to helping Cas be able to leave and break the curse. He had to finish this out, see it through to the end.  


He just needed to assure Cas that once he left, he was free to go wherever he wanted to go and free to do whatever he desired with whomever.  


Even if it wasn’t with him.  


The idea hurt. Dean’s whole being ached with need, wanting to stay as close to Cas as he could. But, if Cas didn’t want that in return, then he wouldn’t force him to be with him.  


But surely, they could still be friends. _Right?_  


Dean groaned, placing his head in his hands, the thoughts that had been haunting his mind throughout the entire night still swirling through his head.  


If only he could talk to Cas about this, then he’d know for sure. He’d be able to convince Cas to at least let him help.  


Unfortunately, at the moment that didn’t seem possible as Cas had yet to leave his room.  


Did he go upstairs on knock on his door? Drag him down? Request his presence? Would he even come out at all or was he expecting Dean to be gone by the time he wandered out from his bed?  


His mind halted as he heard the door creak open, his eyes shooting up to see the recipient walking through those great metal doors.  


To his disappointment, it was simply Bart, wandering into the room, and he bowed his head again, allowing that feeling of despair that had nestled deep within his chest to consume his mind once again.  


He ignored the other man until he was standing right in front of him, clearing his throat to try and gain his attention.  


Dean glanced up, his eyes narrowing in suspicion as he took in the man’s full attire, complete with chainmail and a sheathed sword, his nose held high in the air.  


“What?” Dean asked, unimpressed at the man’s clear show of dominance.  


"Prince Dean," Bart started, his voice waivering slightly, "I challenge you to a duel."  


Dean's head dropped banging the edge of the table as he moaned out, "You've got to be kidding me."  


All he wanted to do was talk to Castiel! Was that too much to ask?  


"The duel will take place immediately," Bart continued, ignoring Dean’s groaning, "and the prize will be the hand of the lost prince."  


Dean looked up and spat out bitterly, "First, Cas doesn't want you or me or anyone else around. He's not a prize to be won through animalistic displays of swordplay."  


He leaned back in his seat, rubbing his eyes.  


How was this his life right now?  


He continued, “Second, your idea of a duel is completely ridiculous."  


"Do you forfeit?" Bart challenged haughtily.  


"No," Dean responded incredulously, speaking slowly as though he were speaking to a child, "because there won't be a duel to begin with."  


Dean stuck his head in his hands, wondering what he did to incur such terrible luck while Bart spoke out loudly, "If you choose not to forfeit, then you must fight. The duel starts now."  


Dean looked up, "What are you..."  


He yelled as Bart's sword tore the fabric of his sleeve, slicing into the side of his shoulder fairly deeply.  


"What the hell?" Dean shouted as he jumped up out of his seat, feeling a stream of blood gush through his fingers he had placed against the wound applying pressure and down the side of his arm. He gritted his teeth, ignoring the sharp pain that throbbed from the cut, a burning fire seeming to consume his whole arm.  


"I have challenged you!" Bart shouted back, inching forward with a mad look on his face, "Will you forfeit?"  


Dean's jaw dropped as he stared at the man inching towards him.  


"You're crazy!" Dean concluded, looking around to see if he could find a weapon in which to fight with, while still keeping Bart’s sword in view.  


Where the hell was Benny when you needed him?  


Dean grabbed a steak knife from the table, lunging forward to dodge Bart's swing, his mind immediately switching to strategy mode.  


This is what he trained for. He could handle this. Bart had just caught him off guard before, that was all.  


Bart was good, Dean could acknowledge that. But he knew, that had he has his own sword, he could easily take him down in a heart beat.  


Unfortunately, he was nearly weaponless, wearing nothing but a tunic and some trousers.  


He grabbed a chair, knocking it over to create an faux obstacle course ignoring Bart's taunts at his plans to make himself a ruler with Cas at his side. He needed to stay focused.  


An opportunity presented itself when Bart jumped over a chair, stumbling enough to allow Dean to leap forward punching the side of his face. When Bart reflexively reached up to cradle his injured jaw, Dean grabbed the other man's wrist, turning it back until he heard a sickening pop, and watched as Bart’s sword fell from his hands, clanking against the wooden floors.  


Bart screamed in pain as he held his limp wrist tenderly against his chest, whimpering at the sting of the broken bone.  


"You will stand down," Dean ordered.  


Another crack of the door had Dean turning, finding Cas and Benny standing frozen at the doorway.  


Benny's face was hardened with rage while Cas looked at the sight in horror. His eyes locked onto Dean, lingering on his bloody shoulder, his face turning pale.  


Dean opened his mouth to speak when Bart shouted, "I will not stand down until you have been defeated! The prince will be mine!"  


He leapt forward, quicker than Dean had time to register, thrusting a hidden blade into the same shoulder he was suffering the cut from.  


Dean yelled, staggering back, shocked at the twinge of the blade in his body.  


He fell to his knees, a white burn overtaking his shoulder, and looked up into the feral eyes of his opponent, wondering if he needed to attack or if Benny would step in for him.  


He heard something clash against the floor and glanced over to find Cas' bracelet had fallen next to him. Two loud gasps made him look up at the sight in front of him, blinking rapidly as he tried to regain vision from his blurry eyesight.  


The gasps had come from Benny and Bart who were looking at a figure directly in front of Dean. Dean ignored the figure to focus on Bart, making sure he wasn’t going to be able to do any more damage. Once he assessed that Benny had locked Bart’s arms behind his back, rendering the use of his limbs ineffective, his mind turned to focus on the figure the other two were watching with frightened expressions.  


There was a person, no…a creature, standing in front of him, its back turned towards him, growling in the direction where Bart and Benny stood, crouched in a defensive stance as though it were ready to attack at any given moment.  


Dean looked in awe at the two great black wings spread out across the dining room hall, large enough to reach out almost to the other side. He narrowed his gaze on the creature’s neck, looking at the blue and black scales trailing down beneath the neckline of the robes it was wearing.  


The creature roared and growled out in a thundering voice, "You will not harm Dean."  


That voice.  


He recognized it from somewhere.  


As he tried to hone in on the origin of the voice, his vision completely darkened and he lost all control of his limbs, falling forward onto the floor as he completely succumbed to the blackness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun DUN DUUUUUNNNNN
> 
> I would apologize, but that would imply that I was actually sorry. muahahaha.
> 
> Also, can I just tell you all that I'm especially proud of the following line: _"He's not a prize to be won through animalistic displays of swordplay."_
> 
> The innuendos are great with this one. 
> 
> In all seriousness, I wanted to thank you again for your kudos and comments! They really are amazing to receive and I'm so grateful for the time you all took out of your day to not only read what I've written but to actually comment or click a button that you liked it. You are all wonderful. x


	4. Chapter 4

As Dean's eyes fluttered open and a glimpse of blue encompassing his body caught his mind, he briefly wondered if he had gone back in time.  


Maybe he was still a small child wrapped up in Castiel's cool silk sheets, waiting for his dad to rescue him and everything that he remembered had just been one really long messed up dream.  


But as he lifted his head to search the room, both the sight of Benny sitting beside his bed, arms folded and a permanent scowl on his face, and the sharp ache in his shoulder told him it had not been a dream.  


Just a very long couple of days.  


Dean ran through the events of the past few days, hell…the past few years, trying to will his mind to catch up to the situation he was currently in.  


He grunted as the pain in his shoulder flared up from his attempts to sit up straighter, wanting to glance around the room and figure out what actions needed to be taken and assess what damage had been done.  


He was grateful when he felt hands reaching forward to grab him, forcing his eyes to open fully and focus on the figure, relieved to see it was Benny. With his help, he sat up straight in the bed, his eyes closing again as he tried to work through the pain.  


He reached up to rub his forehead, fighting a headache that made it painful enough that he desired not to think, and asked, "What happened?"  


After a brief moment of silence, Benny answered, "Earlier this morning, Bart came down asking if I could grab some leaves for tea, claiming that the lost prince wanted them. I stepped inside the pantry to grab them when he locked me in. I was able to break down the door and ran straight to the dining hall where Bart has done a number on you. From what I gathered from his mad man ramblings, he claimed you two were in the middle of a duel for the rights to the hand of the Prince?"  


"It wasn't a duel," Dean answered tiredly, leaning further back into the soft pillows propping him up, "Bart waltzed in the dining room while I was eating breakfast and stabbed me with a sword. Despite being defenseless and unprepared, I think I fared pretty well."  


Dean smiled cockily at Benny who frowned in response.  


"That you did," he agreed, before adding hesitantly, "I'm sorry I wasn't there sooner."  


Dean ignored his apology, waving the words away, not in any way hurt that Benny hadn't been there to protect him. Sure, as his personal guard it was technically his job, but wasn't this why they'd trained Dean to learn how to fight as well? So he could defend himself in a situation if needs be?  


Dean thought back to Benny's explanation of what happened and snorted, "You got locked in the pantry?"  


Benny growled, muttering to himself under his breath, clearly with wounded pride.  


Dean held onto that image for a long moment, chuckling at the idea of the large and strong soldier trapped behind a locked door with spices and herbs for company.  


When he got bored of this image, he asked, "Where's Bart now?"  


"In a cell, down in the dungeons," Benny answered quickly, sitting up a little straighter, possibly proud at having been able to do something right, "He's locked up so he won't be able to do anymore damage. You'll have to figure out what to do with him though before we leave."  


"Any suggestions?" Dean huffed, not liking the idea of having to dole out punishment while he was here. He knew it was necessary, but doling out fair punishments had never been his favorite thing.  


"I think you should kill him," Benny answered honestly, "But there are a lot of factors you'll need to regard when making your decision."  


Dean sighed, this is why he hated this part.  


They sat in silence for a moment, both thinking over the things they'd learned and the weight of Bart's inevitable punishment hanging over their heads.  


Dean's mind drifted to the last thing he remembered, that majestic creature crouching over him, as though it were willing to fight for him, protect him.  


It didn't make sense what he saw, but there was only one possible solution.  


That creature had to be Cas.  


There was no other explanation for it, given that he had actually seen what he thought he saw. He opened his mouth to ask 

Benny, hesitating for a moment as he tried to word his question properly.  


He debated for a brief moment simply not asking, but he had to know the truth.  


Had what he seen actually happened?  


"Did Cas..." He started, before pausing, not sure how to phrase the question. Instead he asked, "Where is he?"  


His eyes darted across the room as Cas' deep voice spoke up, "I'm here, Your Highness."  


Dean locked eyes with Cas, eagerly taking in his form which looked deceptively human. Was he crazy? Had his pain addled mind conjured up some delusions before he'd passed out?  


At the risk of sounding insane, Dean blurted out, "You had wings."  


Cas broke eye contact, looking down playing with a loose thread on his blue robes.  


"I did," he admitted, still avoiding all eye contact.  


"How?" Dean asked curiously.  


Cas fiddled with the bracelet on his arm as he searched for the words.  


Impatient, Dean asked, "What are you?"  


Cas looked up, his eyes full of sorrow and pleading, "I'm a dragon."  


Dean's jaws dropped slightly, add the words registered in his mind.  


"Show me," he ordered.  


Cas looked back, with wide eyes filled with panic. He glanced over at Benny nervously, clearly not wanting to change in front of the other for whatever reason.  


Dean nodded at Benny, catching his attention, "Why don't you run down and make sure Bart isn't getting into any trouble."  


"He's securely locked away, there's no trouble he could possibly get into," Benny answered stubbornly.  


Dean huffed, "Well go check anyway. Then go get some water or something or take a nap. You look awful."  


Benny was clearly on the edge of passing out, a black ring lingering beneath his eyes and his shoulders slumped lower than they normally would be. Dean wondered how much sleep the other man had received the night before.  


Benny shook his head, shooting a look in Cas' direction, "I'm fine right where I am."  


Dean rolled his eyes, "Nothing's going to happen."  


"Forgive me," Benny scoffed, "But I would feel more comfortable staying here with you."  


Dean groaned exasperatedly and asked, "Cas? You plan on hurting me if Benny leaves?"  


Cas shook his head fervently, "No! Dean! I would..." His voice broke slightly as he continued softly, "I never want to hurt you."  


_Too late_. A bitter voice supplied helpfully in the back of his mind.  


Instead he merely smile cheekily at Benny, "See? There you go."  


Benny rolled his eyes, "Dean, as your personal guard..."  


Dean merely cut Benny of biting back tersely, "As your future King and friend, I insist you go get some rest."  


When Benny hesitate further, Dean added, "Now, please."  


Benny nodded, still clearly unhappy with being forced to leave and glanced in between the two one last time.  


"I'll be in the room next door," he informed them seriously.  


Dean simply nodded, instructing him to close the door behind him, leaving he and Cas in silence.  


He took a deep breath, pushing down his wounded feelings from the day before and forced himself to hold out his hand for Cas, ordering, "Come here."  


Cas nervously stood up, walking slowly to Dean's side, sitting in the chair that Benny had just vacated, his hand shakily resting in Dean's.  


He caught a glimpse of the gold bracelet and remembered it clattering to the ground before he'd looked up and seen Cas' other form.  


"It has something to do with the bracelet," Dean spoke, further clarifying, "you changing your forms and what not."  


Cas nodded, "Yes. The etchings on the bracelet signify a spell. As long as I wear this, my true form will be hidden from others."  


Dean thought carefully, "So, this is a mirage?"  


"Not exactly," Cas answered, thinking carefully before continuing, "It merely hides my wings and colors my skin to match what a human's would look like. I'm still me, just with a couple of changes."  


Dean nodded, still not fully understanding, but ready to move on to the next of his long looked of questions.  


"Can I see?" He asked, his hand reaching forward to play with the edges of the cold metal against Cas' wrist.  


Cas gulped visibly, before nodding and holding out his arm so Dean could easily access the item of jewelry. Can watched carefully as he slipped off the bracelet, amazed how Cas' figure so easily transformed into the creature he had seen just that morning.  


Dean's eyes glazed over the body quickly, as though he weren't sure if he were actually allowed to look and asked, "So, you say you're a dragon?"  


Cas nodded, his eyes still wide in worry, "I am."  


"You don't look like a dragon," Dean answered skeptically.  


Every dragon he'd ever seen (which admittedly wasn't many) had been great ferocious creature spanning at least fifteen feet long with vicious sharp teeth and webbed wings.  


Just as Cas had said, he looked pretty much the same, just with sharp feathery wings and scales on his body.  


Cas explained, "This is my true form. My resting form. All dragons have this form, although we do not show it very often. If I were to change into my full shift, you would see the creature your mind most commonly associates as being a dragon."  


Dean raised an eyebrow, "You can change into an animal?"  


Cas nodded, "Yes. Just as a shape shifter, werewolf, or skin walker, dragons have the ability to present themselves in multiple forms."  


Dean nodded, wondering if he'd ever get to see Cas' full shift, but shook the thought from his mind. One question at a time.  


Mindlessly, he dropped Cas' bracelet into his lap and reached out, tracing one of the black scales on the side of Cas' face. He forced Cas' head to turn marveling at how the light glimmered against the skin' causing it to look almost blue in certain areas.  


He studied his face further, tracing the lines down and cupping his jaw, forcing his eyes to look into his own. He was amazed to see they were the exact same. He thought surly there was some sort of magic involved to conjure that color of blue and perhaps when he was in this other form his eyes would change to a more subdued state.  


But there they were, shining brightly, defying all that Dean thought could be.  


He traced his nose, his eyes, wondering how it could be that he could feel the warm flesh on his cheek and then move slightly over to touch the cool scales against his temple. His finger glid down the smooth scales, running down along the side of his neck, pulling back the neck of his robes to study the spot of Cas shoulder that transitioned from scale to flesh.  


He ran his thumb in small circles, the other cupping Cas' head as it has dropped to the side, elongating his neck and showing of his skin better than Dean could have imagined. When he felt that he had studied the colors and patterns enough to satisfy his curiosity (for now, in any case) he allowed himself to finally glance back at the two majestic wings sprouting from Cas' back.  


Dean looked at them carefully, watching as the black feathers rustled against each other, the same sheen gracing them as Cas scales. The feathers were long and pointed, looking fierce and sharp enough to cut straight through your skin.  


"Will it hurt if I touch them?" Dean asked quietly, refusing to take his eyes of the shimmering blue.  


"No," Cas responded, his voice hoarse and deeper than it usually was.  


Dean hesitantly reached out, brushing the top of his forefinger against the closest feather, gasping when it felt as the softest thing he could ever imagine. He eagerly lunged his whole hand into the feathers, running his fingers down, wondering if this is what the clouds that heaven were built upon felt like.  


He only stopped playing with the feathers when Cas' small whimpers and gasps registered in his mind.  


He withdrew his hand opening his mouth to ask if the other man was in pain, but promptly shut it when he looked him.  


Cas' cheeks were flushed, his eyes closed tight, and his mouth was slightly open, his shaky breath puffing out every few seconds.  


He didn't look like he was in pain. It was almost as if he was feeling...pleasure?  


Dean watched him for a moment, longing to take his lower lip in between his teeth.  


Unable to stop himself, he whispered, "You're beautiful."  


Cas' eyes shot open, his breaths slightly more staggered than before, and held Dean's gaze as though he were searching for something.  


They sat there for a moment before Dean shook his head, remembering who he was and why he was there. Cas' voice from the night before stormed back into his mind, and he frowned.  


He had gotten carried away, looking at Cas' true figure. But, they needed to focus now.  


Dean leaned back, folding his arms against his chest, ignoring the twinge of pain in his shoulder at the changed position and instructed, "You're going to tell me everything. And I mean everything. Start from the beginning."  


Cas nodded sadly, his face dropping, and reached forward to grab the bracelet, Dean presumed to place back onto his wrist.  


Dean grabbed the band before Cas could and shook his head, "No. I want you to tell me like this. In your true form."  


Cas nodded, his face looking pained in a mix of confusion and relief.  


He opened his mouth a couple of times, wringing his hands together nervously before he finally spoke, "Many years ago, it was common for dragons to roam among the earth with humans. We usually wore a bracelet to hide our wings, but not out of fear, just out of respect, for both humans and for ourselves."  


He hesitated, thinking through before continuing, "We dragons had our own kingdom, a great and prosperous one that filled through out the entire mountain range in the north. We coexisted with each other and helped to bear each others burdens.  


"We lived in peace for many years. But my parents and several other human kingdoms desired a stronger bond to tie the two together. They decided that a marriage would be formed in between one of the great human kings and the heir to the dragon throne. "  


"You?" Dean guessed dryly.  


Cas nodded, "Yes. The humans spent many years trying to find who they thought would be the best suitor, claiming him to be the best humanity has to offer."  


Cas laughed humorlessly, his eyes glazed over as he seemed lost in a distant memory, "Lord Richard was his name, although he went by Dick. Admittedly, he was a handsome man and quite charming. He'd won my mother and father over in most a matter of minutes. But, there's was something about it that seemed off to me. He was just too perfect. It wasn't long before I started to catch glimpses of the man behind the mask. I wondered for many years that if he was the best humanity has to offer, then what horrors were humanity hiding right in front of our eyes."  


He turned to Dean, his eyes pleading, "I know now that he was no where near the best. He was simply manipulative and cunning and knew the words he should say in order to get his way. But then, when I saw who he was, how he was, I was disheartened."  


Cas gulped, "My parents begged and pleaded with me to accept his hand of marriage. My father shouted until he was hoarse, ordering me to accept this deal as it was what was best for the kingdom. They both love Dick, blinded by his smooth words and subtle flirtations."  


He closed his eyes, "And so I tried. Oh, I tried so hard to find a way that I thought this union could work. I met with him everyday listening to the flattering words he would shower upon me, accepting his lavish gifts of gold and exotic jewels. But, when I would ask for his plans for our joined kingdom, he would merely laugh, telling me that it wouldn't be my place. That all I needed to worry about was birthing and attending to our future children and he would handle the rest. Naturally, this was a condition I had to refuse."  


"Wait," Dean answered, his nose scrunched up, "You telling me you can get pregnant?"  


His eyes appraised Cas' figure, confused at the clear male form of his body.  


"Yes," Cas responded patiently, "Dragons do not have different genders as humans do. Instead, we have breeders and warriors. I am what humans would consider a male breeder because my physique mostly resembles that of a human male."  


Dean nodded, his mind racing to wrap around that and said, "Okay then. Go on."  


"I grew up learning politics and forecasts and strategies for war, much the same as most other princes. So, I refused to be a trophy husband, hanging on the arm of my ill advised spouse," Cas spat out, clearly disgusted at the thought, "When the humans learned this, they changed their strategy to win me over. DIck started telling me about the spells he had learned and the plans he had to increase his power."  


Cas hesitated, "While humans can practice magic, this is a skill that us dragons had slowly perfected over the ages. There are different types of magic, some much more cruel in nature than the others. Although I can cast a spell here and there, my experiences have left me disheartened and unwilling to magic unless it is necessary."  


"Like this bracelet?" Dean clarified, holding the object in question.  


"Exactly," he confirmed, "Other than that, I would much prefer to use my knowledge to solve issues at hand. Using magic as a solution just seems too..."  


"Too much like cheating," Dean finished, not surprised when Cas nodded along.  


He felt the same way, having a few magicians in his court, but rarely using their allotted skills for more than healing or helping struggling crops to grow. His father had used the resources of magic even less than him, claiming it was something that couldn't be trusted.  


"The magic that Dick was using," Cas spoke, shuddering slightly, "was a terrible type of magic. It's power came through the torture and manipulation of others, taking away their free will to choose for themselves. It turned a person into a shell, leaving them empty. But, to use this magic, you must give up a piece of your own soul. I was horrified when I discovered that this was how he had gotten his great powers and refused to meet with him further."  


Cas took a deep breath, "My father was irate, both at me for refusing this union and stepping up to fulfill my duties as the prince, and at humanity for allowing such horrors to go on right underneath their noses. I also think he was upset with himself for having fallen under this human’s spell. My mother convinced him to turn down the offer diplomatically, stating that they were still interested in a union in between the two kingdoms, but that they didn't feel Lord Richard would be a good fit."  


"When Dick got word, he was furious. He threatened to put a curse on all our people for refusing what he thought he had rightfully earned. My parents laughed, looking at their great kingdom and mocking him further for thinking a single human could take down the great dragon empire.  


"It was a few years later when we heard from him again. The humans had summoned up another contender for the throne and while he was a much better match than Dick has been, he still held the ignorances about our race the others had held. Despite the fact we had appeared to work well together for years, it seemed that both humans and dragons were keeping too many secrets from one another. There was too much distrust and misjudgment, but I was hopeful me and the human I would marry could change some of that.  


"The night I was to announce my engagement, Dick returned to fulfill the threats he'd left with us years ago. He brought an army that had long since lost all their humanity. He killed my parents and the human I was supposed to be betrothed to, kidnapped me, and placed a curse upon our kingdom to set us apart as outcasts. He deleted much of our good history, only highlighting the bad things dragons had ever done, pressing the views on the rest of humanity.  


"In all honesty, it was not difficult for humans to believe on his words that we were the great and terrible beasts they had imagine that we could be. "  


Cas sighed, "Dick locked me away in this castle, refusing to let me go until I accepted his hand in marriage, promising me that once I did the curse would be lifted. He informed me that all I would have to do would be to help increase his power and bear his children and my race would be saved."  


"How would you increase his power?" Dean asked curiously.  


"When you are mated with a dragon, their source of power can flow through your body as if it were your own. It is why human-dragon matings are so rare, but they were once coveted and desired by most. It's another reason I was so hesitant to accept just any suitor that humanity had to offer."  


"So, mating as in, like, sex?" Dean asked.  


Cas blushed slightly, making the black of his scales stand out richly next to the pink in his warm cheeks, "Yes, frequent intercourse and intimacy are parts of the mating process, however there is much more to it than that. There is a ritual involved, involving promises being made and kept, and the stronger the bond is in between the two parties, the stronger the flow of magic will be."  


"Gotcha," Dean answered, relieved and intrigued by his response.  


Cas continued, "In any case, even after Dick kidnapped me, I could not accept his terms."  


"But you thought about it," Dean replied, remembering this part of the watered down version Cas had told him all those years before.  


"I did. I tired to convince myself that it would be for the best, but I couldn't do it. I couldn't damn myself to a life with that wretched man, especially if it meant increasing his horrific powers and birthing his hell spawn. I refused, once again, to accept his terms."  


"So, he locked me away," Cas finished, "creating several security measures to ensure that I don't escape and that no one can save me."  


"What happens if you try to leave the castle?" Dean asked, leaning forward.  


Now that he knew Cas' background, he felt they could start to come up with a plan of how to save him. It was obvious that despite what Cas had stated the previous night, he clearly did not want to be locked away in this castle. After learning more about mating, Dean wondered if that was a large part why Cas insisted he wasn't looking for suitors. After all humanity had come to harm him, it wasn't a wonder why Cas wouldn't want to tie himself with a member of it.  


But, that was okay, Dean assured himself. As long as he and Cas could be friends, he could accept that. He would be okay. He'd have to be.  


He wouldn't act like this Lord that kidnapped Cas in the first place and take away his choice. He would help Cas break the curse and then allow him to go wherever he wanted to go and, as much as it pained him, be with who ever he wanted to be with. 

Even if it wasn't Dean.  


Cas hesitated, "An army of the vilest creatures rises to prevent me from leaving. They will harm me, torture me, kill any companions I may have with me, and drag me back to the castle, often barely alive. But, I always heal and I'm always left alone."  


Dean's eyebrows shot up, "Hang on. An army of the most vile creatures? What are we talking about here? Dragons are clearly off the table…"  


Cas scrunched up his nose in distaste and answered, "Leviathans."  


They stared at each other blankly before Dean repeated, “Leviathans?”  


Cas nodded.  


There was another moment of silence before Dean blurted out, “What the hell is a Leviathan?”  


Cas bit his lip before explaining, "They're humans that delved deep into black magic. By increasing their powers through torture and manipulation, their soul is corrupted. This corruption ahold of them changes then, to where they are not quite human anymore. They're vicious creatures that are fast and powerful and impossible to kill."  


Dean groaned, leaning back in his spot, this was a lot more complicated than he thought.  


"Okay, so there's an army of these Leviathan creatures we got to get past, with no clue on how to actually kill them. Great. What else?"  


Cas hesitated, "There's the fog just out side the court yard, past the gates. Anyone who wanders into the mist will have their minds erased of any memories regarding me."  


Dean looked up quickly, the words registering in his mind.  


"Wait, really? Like they don't remember meeting you?"  


"Or that I even exist," Cas confirmed.  


Dean stood speechless, thinking back through his childhood.  


"Cas," he started, trying to find the words, "My - my dad. He couldn't... He told me you weren't..."  


Cas nodded sadly, "I thought that would happen, as I was told it had happened to every single other person who had roamed onto the castle grounds only to have escaped the horrors that lie behind these walls."  


He hesitated before adding, "I truly am sorry."  


Dean closed his eyes, feeling the anger he had held against his father for so many years completely disappear. No wonder he'd been so insistent Dean let go of his story, he honestly couldn't remember having met Cas. He briefly wonders if his dad would have gone back into the forest to find Cas, had the mist not erased his memory, but shook his head.  


It was no use wondering what would have happened. The past was already gone. He sent a silent plea to the heavens, hoping his dad would forgive him of the ill words and bouts of anger he'd aimed towards him over the years.  


Dean turned back to Cas, answering as he realized, "This is why you were surprised that I came back."  


Cas nodded, his eyes full of pain, "You have to understand. Everyone says they'll come back. Everyone makes their promises. 

But, there's nothing they can do prevent the fog taking a hold of their minds. So, when a child made me a similar promise, forgive me when I didn't plan on holding him to his word."  


Cas took a deep, staggering breath, closing his eyes tightly and admitted, "Although, your company was the one that I missed the most. There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't think about my brave little prince who had brought me more happiness than I felt in such a long time."  


Cas risked opening his eyes to see Dean's look of wonder staring back at him.  


"Cas," Dean breathed quietly, deciding to take the leap in faith, "Come home with me."  


Cas whimpered, shaking his head and tears formed in his eyes, "I can't, I'm sorry."  


"Why not?" Dean demanded to know, watching as Cas stood up from his chair, pacing around the room frantically.  


"Look at me, Dean!" Cas shouted, stopping in his spot to point at his own figure, pointing directly at his scales and wings, "Even if somehow you found a way to get us both out of here alive, something I don't want you risking for my sake, your people would never accept me! Because of me, my race is considered monsters among men. Just look at how Benny reacted when he found out what I was! I would never be accepted! I - I ..."  


"Cas," Dean spoke, a laugh bubbling up on his throat, "Is that your only objection? That you're worried about how we're going to escape and whether or not my kingdom will accept you?"  


"Isn't that enough?" Cas answered, hurt at Dean's response.  


"Cas," Dean spoke, his voice waiving slightly as he shifted from his spot on the bed, swinging his legs over the edge, "I thought... When you said you couldn't come, I assumed..."  


"You thought what Dean?" Cas asked frustrated.  


"I thought you didn't want me," Dean admitted timidly, risking a glance in Cas' direction.  


Cas gasped, his hands covering his mouth in shock, "That's not it at all! Dean, you are..." He hesitated before staying boldly, "You are without a doubt the best that humanity could ever possibly offer. And I would be honored to spend my days with you."  


He turned away, not knowing how his words were filling Dean's very core with the brightest warmth he'd ever felt, and continued babbling, "But, that doesn't matter. It doesn't change that your kingdom would be on jeopardy if I were to return to you. Assuming we figure out how to leave the grounds in the first place. It's not worth the risk. It would be best if you simply left me behind and... Mmph."  


Dean pushed himself off of the bed rushing over to where Cas paced and grabbed his arms, pressing his lips firmly against the others.  


It took only a second before Cas responded positively leaning in towards the kiss.  


Dean reached up, cupping one side of Cas' face, feeling the contrast of the cool scales beneath the pad of his thumb and the warm supple lips moving against his own. He found that he liked the contrast more than he thought he would. He liked the reminder that Cas wasn't quite human, that he was something greater, and yet he was close enough that they could make this work.  


His other hand reached up behind his head, grabbing a fistful of hair and pulling on it slightly, pleased when he was rewarded with a deep moan from Cas.  


Cas' hands raised up to Dean's chest, one running up and down as though it were trying to feel everywhere it possibly could, the other clutching onto his shirt, afraid that if he let go then Dean would change his mind.  
Dean's tongue flicked out, pressing against the other's closed lips, eager when Cas' mouth opened, accepting the other inside.  


They stood there in each other's embrace, exploring each other's mouths, reveling in the hot, wet canvas the other person presented, moaning when one would scrape their teeth against their lower lip and the other whimpering as a tongue twisted against their own in the right way.  


Reluctantly, Dean pulled away, his chest raising deeply as he tried to catch his breath, resting his forehead against Cas' and feeling his short, stuttered breaths trying to catch his own breath in return.  


Dean slid his hand from Cas' hair, firmly gripping the back of his neck and spoke deeply, "We're getting you out of here, Cas. I'm going to save you. And, if you would like, I want you to come home with me, just like we talked about before, when I was a kid. We'll go to the pond and ride horses through the woods and you can even show me how you fly. My people will love you. I know they will, because..." He hesitated before admitting, "because I already do."  


Cas dry sobbed, so Dean pulled him down wrapping his arms tighter around him, ignoring the throb his shoulder presented. Cas was more important anyway.  


He held him tightly, feeling Cas' grip on the back of his shirt, keeping him close, as his body soon against dean's, his face buried deep in his neck.  


Dean continued, pressing a kiss against Cas' forehead, feeling his scales beneath his lips, "I need you, Cas. I need you with me. And I'm going to do whatever it takes to get you out of here. I promise."  


\--  


"You sure about this?" Benny asked warily, his gaze flickering back to look at Cas who was hunched over in am oversized arm chair, his nose buried deep in a dusty book.  


"Yes," Dean confirmed confidently, grabbing Benny's shoulder to turn him back so they both were forced to look each other in the eyes, "What he is doesn't change anything. Cas is good. You know he is and I plan on bringing him home with me like I originally planned."  


Benny snorted, turning once again to examine the man (well, technically dragon) in question.  


Cas had put on the bracelet before leaving the bedroom with Dean to find Benny. It was both difficult to remember and forget what Cas looked like in his true form.  


Dean knew he'd never forget the two wings and the scales down his face. But, the smaller details were already escaping him and it had barely been an hour. His scales were black than shone blue in the light, but what shade of blue? How far had they gone down his face?  


He longed to reach out and grab those feathers, running the soft appendages through his fingertips.  


His body ached with want, needing to hold Cas closer, to explore his body more thoroughly than he had already.  


Cas was special and precious and most importantly _his_.  


So, yes, finding out that Cas was a dragon was a big deal, but hearing the other’s admission that he wanted Dean in return was the best news he'd received in sixteen years.  


Dean caught Benny watching Cas carefully, assessing his every breath and watching for anything he could consider to be a misstep. He sighed at the action, understanding that this was exactly Cas was worried about and suddenly wondering if convincing his kingdom to accept Cas as their I ten was going to be a lot more difficult than he anticipated.  


"Benny," Dean spoke steadily, knowing he had the man's full attention despite the fact his eyes were still resting on the back of Cas' messy black hair, "If I'm gonna do this, if we're gonna pull this off, I'm gonna need you in it one hundred percent. I gotta know you have not only my back, but his as well. I can't do this without you man."  


Benny slid his gaze slowly until it rested on Dean's face, scrutinizing him as thoroughly as he had Cas. They stood in silence, Dean's heart pounding, hoping that Benny wasn't going to fail him now.  


He sighed in relief week green Benny nodded tersely, responding, "Yeah, I got your back brother. Your cher as well."  


"Thank you," Dean responded reaching forward to force Benny into a big bear hug, grateful to have a friend that had never let him down.  


If anyone could pull this off, he was confident it would be them three.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for your comments and kudos! You are all wonderful and I'm very grateful for you. :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was seriously supposed to be a short(ish) fluffy one-shot. And then this chapter happened. I don't even know where it came from. :)
> 
> Warning: Smut.

They stayed in the library well into the evening, searching through Cas' books, trying to see if they could find something, _anything_ , that would help them figure out how to get Cas off of the castle grounds. Their plans ranged from trying to sneak out (which Cas assured him was most definitely not an option as there were really no places they could hide) to storming out of the castle with a bang, slaughtering everything that stood in their way (which Cas thought sounded reckless, not to mention had a very little chance of a success rate. Benny agreed to Dean's dismay.)  


Cas wasn't kidding when he said that there was no known way of how to kill a Leviathan. He'd immediately asked Benny if he'd ever heard of the creatures, and was surprised when the other man claimed he had.  


"They're the black goo monsters from the medieval times," Benny said, an eyebrow raised, "I thought they were made up. Like the monsters in your closet."  


Cas merely shook his head, "They are very real," he confirmed, further explaining, "the type of magic they practice was outlawed and any that were caught practicing would be executed, so they had to get better at hiding, smarter about using their powers. Eventually, history became stories, and stories turned into myth."  


Benny nodded and suggested they hit the books to find as much as they could about these not do mythical creatures.  


Dean tried not to be discouraged with the fact that Cas had already scoured through these books countless times before. With nothing else to do, he'd had nothing but time and opportunity to figure out a way to overcome the evils that rested just outside of his door.  


After all, if Cas hadn't been able to figure out a way to overcome the curse, then what hope did Dean have in his efforts to pull this off?  


As Dean's mind wandered from the words on the page in front of him, he caught a glimpse of Benny (who had neglected the take the nap he'd ordered him to earlier that day), yawn widely, and was amused when Cas yawned mere seconds afterwards. Fighting a yawn of his own, Dean waved his hand, catching the attention of the other two, who were both hunched over the same book, dissecting the words on their own page.  


"Hate to say it, but I think we need to call it a night," Dean admitted, knowing he made the right call when both Benny and Cas slumped their shoulders in relief.  


"I think you're right," Benny answered, immediately getting up from his spot, stretching as high as he could reach before walking next to Dean.  


"You gonna be alright tonight?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.  


Dean nodded, massaging his shoulder tenderly. The spot where Bart stabbed him still ached, but it was already feeling better. Cas had taken to rubbing a salve on it that he'd made which helped to speed the healing process and stave off any infections. He'd offered to use some of his magic to heal Dean completely, but he'd said no.  


He knew Cas was uncomfortable using magic and didn't think it was a bad enough injury to warrant the use.  


Besides, he didn't think the ache he felt was a such a hardship when Cas' warm hands were pressing firmly against his skin.  


He looked back at Cas whose eyes were still racing, trying to catch every word, every meaning on the page.  


Dean sighed, stepping forward and placing a bookmark in the page Cas was on before closing it gently.  


"You need sleep," Dean spoke softly, reaching out run his fingers through the other man's dark hair, pausing at the base of his skull and rubbing his neck tenderly.  


"Mmm," Cas groaned, sinking further into his seat as he enjoyed Dean's fingers working out the many kinks in his tired muscles, "Perhaps I would be more effective after a few hours of sleep."  


"C'mon," Dean answered, holding out his hand to help Cas stand.  


"How is your shoulder?" Cas asked, leaning against Dean's side, humming happily as the younger man snaked his arm around his waist, holding him closer.  


"Sore," he admitted, "but not nearly as bad as it should be."  


Cas frowned, "Would you like me to rub some more salve on it before you retire for the evening?"  


Dean nodded, a small smile gracing his face. He loved that Cas offered to do it for him, despite the fact that he could easily take care of it himself.  


The entered into Cas' bedroom, Dean closing the door quietly behind them, before pulling off his shirt and sitting on Cas' bed, while the other man walked to his kitchenette area, rummaging through his drawers to find a bowl to place some warm water and a rag in.  


When he acquired all of the materials, he walked back over to Dean, wringing out a cloth, steaming from the hot water, and placing it gently against the long scar on his left shoulder.  


Cas smiled shyly, choosing not to speak as he worked cleaning the area.  


Unable to help himself, Dean reached up to grab Cas' hand, finding the bracelet and slipped it off once again, placing it on a night table next to the bed, never taking his eyes off of Cas' now changed form.  


He really was beautiful. More so than Dean could ever have imagined him to be.  


Cas blushed beneath Dean's adoring gaze, not taking his eyes off of the other man as well.  


His hand paused briefly when Dean reached up, cupping the back of Cas' head and pulled him down for a sweet kiss. His lips pressed tantalizingly soft against the others, offering a tease, but a promise of something more.  


"Dean?" Cas breathed against Dean's lips.  


"Hm?" Dean asked, his eyes closed tightly as he focused on the electricity he felt from their close contact, dancing on the nerve endings on his lips.  


"I need to put the salve on your shoulder," Cas replied, his lips brushing lightly against Dean's each time his mouth moved to form a different word.  


Dean wanted to swallow the other man's tongue, biting the lips that teased his mind relentlessly, but forced himself to sit back.  


He was pleased when Cas appeared dazed, having to take two tries just to simply put away the cloth and bowl of water, making sure not to drop the items onto the floor.  


His fingers shook as he reached up, rubbing a warm, green gel into Dean's skin. Dean hissed at the initial contact, but sighed in relief as the medication and spell work began to work quickly, leaving the injured area pleasantly numb and warm.  


Cas' finger lingered over his skin, obviously hesitant to remove them quite yet.  


Dean reached up, placing a hand on Cas' hips, drawing him further in between his open legs, Cas' hand now splayed against Dean's toned chest.  


Cas opened his mouth to speak, but seemed to change his mind when he closed it and hesitantly bent down, placing a light kiss against Dean's lips.  


He pulled back slightly, a questioning look in his eyes, as though he were asking for permission, making sure that this was okay with Dean.  


Although he appreciated the sentiment, he needed to taste Cas' tongue, like yesterday, and pulled him back down, crashing his lips deeply into the other's.  


They continued like that, Cas bent down, hovering over Dean, as they picked up from where they had left earlier that day, exploring one another's mouth, their tongues pressing eagerly into the other's.  


Dean moaned unashamedly when Cas lifted his legs up onto the bed, pulling Dean's legs together so he could sit on his lower thighs. Although this was good, Dean knew it could be so much better, and ran his hands lightly up Cas' thighs.  


He ran his fingers in nonsensical patterns up and down the thin cloth that covered his legs, reaching a little higher and a little further back with each stroke.  


Cas' kisses became a little more desperate, a little more confident with every touch. He leaned in further to Dean's touch, kissing as though he were starving.  


Dean teased Cas for a bit, before gliding his hands all the way back, cupping the back of his ass, squeezing tightly before rubbing his fingers in light circles, teasing the area.  


Cas' breaths grew shallow, his kisses a little more staggered then they had a moment before.  


Dean pushed his tongue into Cas' mouth, elated when he responded positively, sucking on the flesh eagerly.  


Taking another chance, Dean got a firm grip on Cas' hip and ass, pulling him further up onto his lap until their groins were pressed flushed against the others.  


Cas moaned, one hand bracing himself on Dean's good shoulder, the other reaching up to grab onto Dean's short hair, barely able to get a good grip.  


Dean's hands rested on Cas' hips and his tongue pounded in and out of the other's mouth relentlessly for a full minute before withdrawing to grab Cas' lower lips in between his lips, nibbling lightly.  


Sucking on the bruised lip, Dean rolled his hips upwards, throwing his head back as he felt Cas' hard-on press deep into his own.  


Cas whimpered, reaching forward to grab him back into another consuming kiss, his own hips rolling down relentlessly in response, wings rustling loudly behind him.  


"Dean," Cas breathed, panting as he lost all his composure, "Dean, please."  


Dean squeezed his ass before sliding his hands around his hips, pausing at the top of his thighs, just beneath his prominent erection.  


"What do you need, Cas?" Dean asked, accepting Cas' flurry of desperate kisses, "Tell me what you need."  


"I," Cas whimpered, grabbing desperately at Dean's hands and placing them onto the thick bulge at the front of his robes, "I need you. Please."  


Dean rubbed his erection lightly before pulling off, momentarily ignoring Cas' whimpers at the loss and slid his hands beneath the robes. He felt Cas' underwear, tugging at it, wanting to pull it down all the way.  


Cas felt his urging and scrambled off Dean's lap, reaching beneath his robes to pull off the garment in question. He hopped back onto Dean's lap, sitting physically closer than Dean thought was possible, pushing Dean's hand back beneath the robes to return to where they had been a moment before.  


Dean obliged, but complained to Cas, "I want to see you, Cas. I want to see your whole body."  


Cas shook his head, much to Dean's disappointment, but replied, "You will. I promise. But not now. Please Dean."  


Dean nodded, wrapping his hand around Cas' cock, wishing he could look at it. He settled for running his fingers slowly up and down the length, trying to feel every inch and commit it to his memory.  


Cas grabbed his other hand, still clutching his hip, and thrust it into his wings.  


Dean groaned at the softness, wondering what the feathers would feel like against his entire body. Cas' hips thrust up, pushing his erection further into Dean's hand as Dean grabbed a hold of a bunch of feathers down at the base, in between his shoulders blades.  


Dean closed his eyes, focusing entirely on feeling Cas' body all around him and his own hardened erection, painfully straining against his trousers.  


As though Cas had heard his silent pleas, he removed his hands from their respective places and slowly slid down the zipper, pulling his bright red cock out of his tight boxers.  


His bright blue eyes stared down at the limb curiously, taking in every single detail. Jealous, Dean opened his mouth to complain, but what stopped in his tracks when Cas confidently reached forward, gripping him tight and pulling him into a place where pain was mixed with pleasure. The dry rubbing he was doing shouldn't have felt nearly as good as it did, but Dean found himself thrusting into the other man's hands nearly as much as he was doing in return.  


Their hips pushed forward desperately, lips reaching forward to crash together once again, as they searched to find a rhythm that match and seemed satisfy, yet tease them both.  


They panted into each other's mouth, hands working faster and faster to chase after their release.  


With a twirl of his fingers in Cas' wings, Cas called out, hips stuttering as thick come spurted onto his hand. It wasn't long before Dean followed him, watching as the white substance covered all over Cas' fingers.  


Cas slumped forward, resting his head in the crook of Dean's neck, nuzzling into the warm skin there.  


"Will you stay?" Cas mumbled into his skin.  


Dean nodded, "In case you hadn't noticed, I don't plan on ever leaving you."  


Dean felt Cas' smile before he sat up, showing him his bright teeth and crinkly eyes.  


"Good," he answered, bending forward to kiss Dean lightly before hopping off his lap one more time.  


He instructed Dean to take off his clothes, wincing when he saw the garments were covered in cum.  


"I'm sorry, I can wash those for you tomorrow," he said sheepishly.  


Dean thanked him, climbing beneath the covers as waited for Cas as he bustled around the room, blowing out all the candles and turning off any lamps.  


He was disappointed when Cas waited to pull off his robes after all the lights were off, making it difficult for Dean to see his naked body.  


"I wish you would let me look at you," Dean mourned as Cas climbed beneath the covers, snuggling up tightly into Dean's side, his wings sprawled out behind him and onto the floor.  


"You will," Cas assured him a second time, before letting out a long yawn.  


Dean shook his head, a kiss on Cas' forehead, still marveling at the contrast his skins and scales felt against his lips.  


"Sleep well, Cas."  


Cas hummed, sighing contently as Dean ran his fingers through his hair, both falling into a deep sleep in each other's embrace.  


\--  


Dean lay next to Cas' body, marveling at the sight before him. The sun had risen and was shining into the bedroom, causing a stream of light to shine over his body.  


Cas was lying on his stomach, one arm reaching above his head, the other tucked beneath his body. The comforter had fallen down, barely covering his lower back, just beneath his wings which were curled in, hugging his body tightly.  


Dean held out a hand, curious but cautious as to not wake the other man up, and ran his fingers through the feathers. Cas sighed happily, shifting in his spot to move his wings so Dean could get better access, but stayed fast asleep.  


Emboldened, Dean scooted forward, propping himself onto his elbow and lightly traced the skin he could barely see behind the feathers.  


The scales on Cas' shoulder, which was a glimmering cerulean in the sun light in stark contrast to the black it has looked the night before, crept onto his back, scattering down his side and onto his ribs. The majority of his back was warm skin, with the exception of a cluster of scales at the base of his wings.  


Dean traced the edges, teasing both the warm skin and the cool scales beneath his fingertips.  


He froze when Cas sighed happily, pausing to see if the other man was going to wake up. When it was clear he wasn't, he continued his light touches, sliding down his back until he reached the top of his ass. He slid his thumb over the scales scattered over his hips and dipping down his groin on the front of his body.  


Daringly, Dean pulled down the covers so he could get a better look at the parts he couldn't see, wanting to touch everything in his sight.  


With the covers pushed down all the way, Dean traced his hand down Cas' legs, dipping forward to feel the scales on his inner thigh, and back up to cup his ass in his hand.  


Desperate to feel more, Dean shuffled down the bed, starting at Cas' ankle and kissed the flesh, interchanging where he placed his light kisses from skin to scales.  


His lips crawled up his body, stopping frequently to spend a considerate amount of time in certain areas before reaching up to the scales at the base of his wings.  


Nuzzling his face in between the feathers, Dream continued his onslaught of kisses, occasionally flicking out a tongue to taste the scales or skin. He felt rustling surrounding him and pulled himself up, resting his hand on Cas lower back, not willing to let go quite yet.  


Cas was breathing shallowly, his eyes fluttering beneath his eyelids, straining as he appeared to be holding himself together.  


Dean wanted nothing more than to be the one to help take him apart.  


Once he realized Dean's touches had stopped, Cas' eyes fluttered open, his head lifting up slightly to look back at Dean who was kneeling at his side.  


He hummed happily when Dean's hand continued running up and down the skin, snuggling his face back into the pillow.  


Dean continued where he had left of, his tongue becoming bolder and his kisses taking a little longer. He ran his tongue lightly along the edge of the base of his wings, feeling himself getting hard as Cas writhed and moaned, arching his back further into the touch.  


Dean continued his ministrations, lifting another hand to run his fingers through the soft feathers lightly, pleased at the positive response.  


When Cas was panting beneath him, and mumbling beneath his breath words like, "More" and "Yes" and "Please", Dean lifted himself off and pushed at Cas' hips to try and push him over.  
It took Cas a moment to catch on, but when he did, he lifted his head up, staring back at Dean with his pupils dilated, cheeks flushed red, and a look of panic.  


Dean smiled encouragingly, bending down to kiss Cas' side, slowly working his way up until he reached Cas' lips. He pressed his own against the other man's gently, whispering into his mouth, "Trust me."  


Cas took a couple of deep, staggering breaths before nodding, following Dean's hand as he turned him over onto his back.  


Dean moaned at the sight of Cas laid out in front of him. He had thought Cas' back was sexy, but it had nothing on the front.  


He slid back down his body, longing to continue his exploration on the front the same he had on his back.  


He started at his ankles once again, working his way up to his thighs, kissing every single scale he came across and sucking and nibbling his warm skin along the way.  


He breathed warmly over Cas' cock, but otherwise continued forward, neglecting to touch that area.  


He kissed the skin on his belly, dipping his tongue into his navel before moving up to sick on each nipple lightly. Dean personally didn't feel pleasure when his nipples were played with, but it was apparent Cas was.  


He continued up nibbling on his collarbone, tongue twisting over the scales on his shoulders and back down.  


Every sound, every breath that Cas made was heaven for him. Cas whimpered and moaned as he clutched the silk sheets beneath him, his knuckles turning white from the action. Dean was impressed at his self control, keeping his body relatively steady and un-moving as Dean worshiped his skin.  


But that's not what Dean wanted.  


He wanted to see this beautiful man writhe and squirm beneath his body.  


Dean kissed beneath his jawline working his way up to the name pink, plush lips. Cas eagerly returned the kiss, sucking on Dean's tongue as his hands ran back down his body.  


Dean kissed and bit his lip while his fingers returned to Cas' nipples, gently brushing his thumb over the nub before pinching it in between his fingers. Cas' breath became labored, his chest rising up and down as his moans became muffled behind Deans lips.  


He slid his hand further down, gripping his hips tightly and holding them in place.  


His lips left Cas' mouth, trailing back down until he reached Cas' warm blooded cock, blowing lightly against the skin because kissing the tip sweetly and flicking out his tongue to have a taste.  


Cas moaned unashamedly, trying to buck his hips up into Dean's mouth, frustrated when Dean's hands were preventing him from doing so. Dean continued to kiss and lick the tip, sliding his tongue around the head and down the prominent vein on the underside. He slid his tongue back up before enveloping Cas' cock into his mouth completely, sucking hard.  


Cas called out, murmuring things that sounded like nonsense to Dean's ears with the occasional "Dean" and "more" mixed in.  


Dean smirked around the tip, glancing up at Cas' face. His eyes were closed tight, his mouth open gasping for breath. His hands were still fisted in the sheets, which Dean thought was unacceptable, so he grabbed them and put them on his head, eager when Cas responded by pulling his hair, enough to feel the tug but not enough to hinder his movements.  


Dean's own hands wove through Cas' wings, rubbing the wings base and sliding up to brush his fingers through the feathers.  


This seemed to spark Cas on more, his wings beginning to shake rapidly beneath his body while his legs spread wider. Dean's other hand left Cas' hip to dip down between his legs.  


He paused for a moment when he felt something that felt similar to lubrication already smeared in between his legs. Dean's forefinger ran through the slickly substance until he found the source at Cas' hole. He wondered briefly what other secrets about Cas' body there was before he twisted his tongue against the head and pushed in the tip of his finger.  


Cas called out, his body shaking in spasms as his orgasm filled through his body.  


Dean felt the warm cum fill his mouth, hesitant to swallow until he got a taste. He was surprised when the substance was sweet, willingly swallowing as soon as it came.  


He sucked until there was no more, pulling off with an obscene pop and smirked up, pleased with himself.  


Cas, still running on his high, rasped out breathlessly, "Your turn?"  


Dean opened his mouth to protest, his only goal had been to explore Cas' body, he didn't need anything in return, but was mesmerized at the sight of Cas reaching down to his own hole.  


Cas dipped a couple of fingers in, getting his fingers wet with his natural fluid, moaning obscenely and bucking into his own touch.  


Dean reached down to fist himself, completely on board with this idea of voyerism, when Cas swatted his hand away.  


He replaced it with his own' now slick hand, gliding up his shaft with the right amount of pressure, flicking his wrist at the tip.  


"Fuck, Cas," Dean moaned, bucking his hips into the movement, trying to hurry Cas to go faster, "So fucking hot. Yes. Just like that."  


Dean came silently, a look of complete bliss on his face before slumping down onto the bed.  


Cas cuddled up into his side, nuzzling his face into Dean's neck and curled one of his wings protectively over the two.  


"That was amazing," Dean said, laughing with joy as he came down from his high.  


He bent down, lifting am arm up to wrap around Cas, tapping his chin up to look him in his eyes, "You are amazing."  


Cas' cheeks flushed red s he asked timidly, "You think so?"  


Dean nodded, kissing the tip of the other man's nose, "I really do. There's no where I'd rather be, no one of rather be with, then here with you."  


"Even if I'm a monster?" He asked quietly, his eyes cast down as though he were ashamed.  


Dean growled, "Don't ever call yourself a monster. The real monster is the man that took you away."  


He kissed Cas' forehead and spoke tenderly into the skin, "We'll fix this Cas. Together, we can do anything."  


\--  


"Mm," Dean said leaving against the counter, attempting to hover over Benny's shoulder, "That smells delicious."  


"Enough here for everyone," Benny spoke, focusing on flipping the small cakes in the pan.  


"You made us breakfast?" Cas asked from the doorway, in a strange almost reverent voice.  


"Yes sir," Benny replied, grabbing a bowl of fruit he'd already cut into chunks and passing it over for Cas to grab. He accepted it happily, picking out a strawberry and popping it into his mouth.  


"Couldn't sleep," he continued, "figured I could get us off to a good start with a great breakfast."  


"Is the room not to your liking?" Cas asked concerned.  


"It's probably just the stress of the job and being away from home," Dean assured Cas, slapping Benny on his back, "nothing to worry about."  


"Actually," Benny corrected them slyly, "It was the obscene noises that came from the room next door. Know anything about that?"  


Cas choked on a grape he'd just thrown in his mouth, setting down the bowl as Dean walked over calmly to pound on his back until he regained composure. His face was flushed bright red and he looked at Dean with panic clear in his eyes.  


Dean simply winked at the other man before speaking, "If you didn't want a show, you should have picked a further room."  


Cas stared at Dean, a mixture of embarrassment and horror etched onto his features.  


Benny chucked before taking pity on Cas and said, "Why don't you two start bringing out the food. I'll be right behind you."  


Cas nodded grabbing the bowl of fruit before marching out of the room.  


Dean chucked once more, grabbing the juice Benny has freshly squeezed for them and a few glasses.  


By the time Benny came out with the rest of the food, Cas had regained his composure, sitting up straight, acting as though their conversation had never happened.  


They made light talk through out the meal, Cas being adamant that he did not want to talk about business at the dinner table (his house, his rules he reminded Dean). When their forks clanked against the glass, Cas asked, "Shall I bring some food down for Bartholomew?"  


Dean scowled, remembering that he still needed to figure out what to do what the terror. Fortunately, Cas' salve had worked wonders and he was completely healed, with nothing but a thin white scar to show for it.  


He shook his head and said, "I would prefer you didn't go anywhere near that snake. Benny can run some food down so he doesn't starve while I figure out what I do with him."  


He stood from the table, holding his hand out for Cas to accept, "We'll head to the library, pick up where we left off."  
Benny nodded, agreeing with the plan and the three made their move to leave.  


\--  


Day after day passed with them following the same routine.  


Wake up. East breakfast. Check on Bart their prisoner. Start research. Keep researching. Grab a bite to eat for dinner. Research some more. Split into different bedrooms for the night. Bring each other to orgasm. Fall asleep. Wake up. Repeat.  


He and Castiel were getting closer as the days grew, despite the fact they were both becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of results.  


Their time together before bed has become therapeutic, both finding release physically, and then talking while they lie in each other's arms until one of them fell asleep.  


The other was never far behind.  


Cas told him more stories of his childhood, thinking back on times that seemed simpler when he would have races with his brothers and sisters. (This is also where Dean learned that Cas was actually an only child, but the dragons all referred to each other as brother or sister).  


Dean told him stories in return, of his little brother Sammy and uncle Bobby. He even mentioned his father and the hard relationship they had when he told Dean that Cas didn't exist. Cas held him close during those stories, assuring him he was right there.  


They were in the library once again, flipping through the heavy books. Cas was curled up in an armchair his nose deep in his book. Benny was downstairs, starting on dinner for them for the evening.  


Dean flipped the page, bored and discouraged. How were they going to pull this off? There was nothing he that appeared to be helpful in any way.  


He looked down at the words on the page, a passage catching his eye.  


_**Dragon - Dragon Mating**_  


_When dragons are born, their biology defines them as either a breeder or a warrior. Dragon breeders tend to be fewer and farther in between, so to protect them, the binding magic of mating was created. When two dragons are found compatible, the pair will undergo a mating ritual, following their consummation. The result is a life long bond between the two. This bond allows them to combine their magic, creating a powerful entity in between the two. This bond also protects the breeder from being attacked by another warrior. Dragon - Dragon matings are common and highly encouraged for breeders._  


Dean frowned, flipping to the next page and skipping a section called _"Dragon - Creature Mating"_ until he found the passage he was most interested. Checking to make sure Cas was still deeply engrossed in his research, Dean read:  


_**Dragon - Human Mating**_  


_While unusual, it is possible for dragons to mate with humans. The mating is very similar to that of a dragon - dragon mating. There is a ritual and the consummation of the match. Often times after the ceremony, the humans will throw a celebration, or a reception, and will complete some of their own human rituals; such as: exchanging vows and promises, giving each other gifts (most commonly rings), and kissing over an altar._  


_The results of a dragon - human mating are much different from that of other matings. Both the dragon and the human undergo changes in this process. The dragon's magic will course through the body of the human, an amazing feat considering most humans are not prone to having magic within them._  


_The human will also be given a prolonged life to live with their new dragon mate. The prolonged age depends on the power of the bond and the age of the dragon._  


_Once this mating ritual comes to pass, the human - dragon bond can not be broken unless one of the members dies. Dragons mate for life and so these rituals should be taken very seriously._  


Dean re-read the passage a few times, the information sinking in. It was an interesting thought, to be mated to a dragon and Dean wondered if it was something he'd be willing to do. He'd be given magic (something he'd never wanted) and a prolonged life.  


What did that mean? How long would he live to?  


Until he was 50? 100? 150?  


Dean looked back up at Cas, who was squinting internally at the pages, his nose scrunched up in distaste at whatever he was reading.  


He smiled involuntarily, unable to help himself as he watched this gorgeous being next to him.  


It wasn't like he had to use the magic. And he already decided he wanted to be with Cas forever, so what was a few extra years tacked on the end?  


He felt excited at the prospect of them mating. This was something that he wanted and something he wanted now.  


"Let's mate."  


Cas glanced up, not having heard Dean and asked, "Hm? What was that?"  


"Let's mate," Dean repeated excitedly.  


Cas stared at him, eyebrows scrunched up in confusion, before clarifying, "You want to mate? With me?"  


Dean laughed, "Who else is there?"  


Excited about this idea, he leaned forward, thinking out loud, "I mean, the whole magic thing freaks me out a little, but I'm sure I'll get used to it, eventually. And I was gonna ask you to marry me anyway when we get back, so might as well just do it before we even leave."  


Cas stared at Dean, his mouth slightly agape.  


Dean continued, "Sammy will probably be pissed, but he's always mad at me, so he'll get over it..."  


Dean turned to Cas, smiling brightly, "So? What do ya say? Wanna mate?"  


Cas stared at Dean, his face full of disbelief, discomfort and apprehension.  


Dean's smile dropped slightly as Cas asked incredulously, "You mean... Now?"  


Dean frowned, wondering why Cas wasn't nearly as excited about this as he was. Did he not want to mate? Was Dean rushing into this?  


He shrugged, trying to downplay his enthusiasm a bit, scared he was making Cas uncomfortable, "Yeah! I mean, we might as well. Right?"  


He paused, before adding as an afterthought, " It may even help us with your escape after all."  


Cas scrunched his nose, "How do you figure that?"  


"Well, this guy wants you for his mate, right?" Dean reasoned, "If you're already mated, then he can't have you. It may be easier to over power him when he literally can't get what he wants."  


Cas opened and closed his mouth several times, seeming to be at a loss for words.  


Dean watched him apprehensively, mentally cursing himself for even bringing it up.  


_Stupid._  


He wasn't surprised when Cas stood abruptly from his seat, announcing, "I will have to think about it. I don't know if..."  


He trailed off, his eyes shifting around the room, avoiding looking straight at Dean, before walking briskly out of the room without saying another word.  


Dean's face fell as he watched the man practically run away from the room, his heart tightening in his chest, a consuming bitterness filling through his body.  


_Fuck._  


Dean cursed himself, wondering what the hell he was thinking. He glanced back to find Benny standing at the doorway, his arms folded with a frown on his face.  


Great. It was one thing to be rejected, and another to be rejected in front of an audience.  


"Well," Benny spoke carefully, dissuading any doubt in Dean's mind that he'd heard his and Cas' conversation, "I'm guessing that didn't go as you expected."  


Dean groaned before letting his head fall onto the table with a loud plop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed it! Let me know what you think. Thank you again to those who have left comments and kudos! You're amazing. :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for the shortness. 
> 
> Please enjoy despite that.

Benny patted Dean on his back comfortingly as Dean allowed himself to wallow in self pity.  


That had definitely not worked out the way it was supposed to.  


"May I make a suggestion?" Benny asked hesitantly.  


Dean nodded, his face still buried in the pile of books, too ashamed of his recent failure to risk looking at Benny's face.  


Why didn't Cas say yes? What was there to think about? Did he not want Dean anymore? Or perhaps Dean was something to pass the time until he was free and he could find a better suitable spouse.  


Dean didn't think he was all bad. He was a prince! He had both money and land. He'd be a good husband.  


Benny spoke calmly, "Perhaps you should put a little more thought in your proposal of mating."  


Dean looked up, catching the other's eye and raising an eyebrow, "This is what I want Benny. I don't need to sit on it for days..."  


Benny held out his hands in defense, "I know. I'm not saying don't do it. I'm saying perhaps you should have put more thought into how you asked."  


Dean slouched in his chair, folding his arms tight against his chest, "Explain."  


Benny rolled his eyes, pulling another chair to sit across from Dean.  


"You're essentially proposing to him, am I right?"  


Dean nodded his confirmation, so Benny continued, "Well, most proposals are big events in themselves. When I proposed to Andrea, I took her to the lake with a candlelit picnic dinner where we had our first date and proposed as the sun was setting. Then we cuddled and looked at the stars."  


Dean snorted, "You're such a sap."  


Benny ignored him and continued, "What I'm saying is, most people want their proposal to mean something, not for it to be presented as a solution to their problems."  


Dean jumped up, biting back indigenous, "It does mean something to me!"  


Benny nodded, "I know, and I'm sure Cas knows too. But you just kind of sprung the idea on him."  


Dean slumped back into his seat, rubbing his eyes, "So, what? You think I should make some big romantic gesture?"  


Benny smiled, "I do. I also think that maybe you should try wooing him tomorrow, make it an all day long process."  


Dean nodded, "Yeah. Yeah, okay. I can do that. "  


He thought for a moment before it dawned on him, "Hey, Benny? You think wooing a dragon is any different from wooing a human?"  


Benny sat back thoughtfully, "it may be. Guess we should find that out."  


Dean groaned again, looking at the books with disdain. He thought back to Cas and took a deep breath.  


Benny was right, Cas deserved more.  


"Let's get started."  


\--  


Dean and Benny found some books they thought looked promising and brought them down to the dining room as they ate. Dean was disappointed when Cas didn't show, but also slightly relieved. He wanted all this to be a surprise. To prove to Cas that he could, and would, be a good husband. Someone who would take care of him and provide him with a good life.  


They jotted down notes and ideas for what Dean could do. They discovered that there was a certain way to court a dragon. By doing so, you were proving yourself as a strong and viable mate.  


Once they got their list together, Benny helped him grab all of his supplies together he needed in preparation for the next day. 

Dean looked at the clock, groaning when he realized it was three in the morning. He wondered if he should go into Cas' room to sleep, since that's where he'd been staying for the past several nights, but decided against it. He went back to the library, crashing for a couple of hours before forcing himself to get up before the sun rose.  


He went downstairs into the kitchen, grateful when Benny was already waiting for him.  


“You’re crazy, you know that?” Benny accused him, his eyes still droopy from his lack of sleep.  


“I know,” Dean replied quietly, smiling briefly, “Thank you.”  


Benny waved him off, pointing to a bunch of food he’d pulled out and instructed Dean how to make, complimenting him when the food turned out well. Dean quickly set up the dining room with nice china, cursing that he had only brought plain clothes.  


He was just about to grab the remainder of the food when Cas hesitantly walked into the dining room. Dean took a deep breath before smiling brightly at the other man as he cautiously looked around the room at the set-up. It was just the two of them as Benny had already snuck out, not wanting to interrupt their time together.  


“Good morning, Cas,” Dean spoke slowly, drawing his attention back towards him.  


“Hello Dean,” the other replied, still curiously glancing at the large spread.  


Dean rushed forward, pulling out a seat so Cas could sit down and said, “Just one more thing to grab.”  


He was quick to return, sitting down in his spot in the seat next to him.  


“Where’s Benny?” Cas asked, looking around the room, hesitating to eat until the last member of their party arrived.  


“He didn’t get much sleep last night,” Dean answered effortlessly, “decided he wanted a bit of a lie-in.”  


It wasn’t completely a lie, Benny didn’t get much sleep at all. Dean hadn’t either, but he was much too wound up to attempt to get some now.  


He thought back to his list he’d come up with, mentally organizing it for his plans throughout the day:  


_1\. Provide a Meal for your intended mate to show that you are able to provide for a family_  


_Maybe cook Breakfast for Cas?_  


_2\. Have constant Physical Contact, Breeders are reassured of affection through touch_  


_Escort everywhere_  


_Hold hands?_  


_3\. Present a gift to your desired mate. The more thought-out the gift, the better received the present will be_  


_~~Jewelry?~~ Flowers? ~~Chocolate?~~_  


_4\. Take your desired mate to their favorite place. This will ease them and allow them to be more receptive when you propose._  


_Green house_  


_5\. Make a promise and then keep it. Showing them that you intend to keep all promises proves you can be trusted._  


_Remind him of my promise to come back, [which I did]_  


He shoved the list back into a little pocket in the back of his mind, turning his full attention back to Cas, who gratefully hadn't seen his distraction. He leaned forward, holding out the pitcher of freshly made juice, offering it to Cas.  


Cas nodded, pleased as he took a small sip, starting on eating the pile of food he'd placed on his plate.  


Dean had a strange sense of pride when Cas hummed happily at the food, knowing he was the one who had given it to him.  


One down, four more to go!  


The two sat in silence as they ate, both hungry and nervous about where they stood.  
Cas, who seemed to not be able to stand the silence any longer, opened his mouth and started, “Dean, I – ”  


“I think we should go down to the gardens today,” he cut him off. He felt a little bad, it was rude to interrupt, but he really didn’t want to talk about what had happened the night before. Not yet.  


Cas stumbled for a moment, tilting his head to the side, “What about our research?”  


Dean shrugged, “I think we need a break from research. I’d like to spend the day with you, if that's alright.”  


His deep blue eyes were on him for a long several moments, before nodding definitively, “That seems agreeable.”  


“Excellent,” Dean said, a wide smile gracing his face.  


When they were finished, he stood quickly, holding out an arm, forcing himself not to bounce in his step when Cas readily accepted it.  


He noted in his mind that physical contact had now been initiated, reminding himself that he needed to keep up these touches the entire day.  


Honestly, he didn't really mind.  


They chatted lightly as Dean led him down to the greenhouse, having been there enough times he remembered exactly where it was. He opened the door, pausing to inhale the sweet scent of the flowers, glad when Cas followed his lead and did the same thing.  


He risked a glance over at the other man and felt his heart beat rapidly at the look of pure bliss on Cas' face.  


Dean vowed to bring that look back onto his face as often as he could.  


Pleased that he was already able to check off a third thing from his list, he allowed Cas to lead him up and down the aisles, their disastrous conversation from the night before long forgotten, and listened to him as he talked about all the different flowers he planted, which herbs were his favorites, and how his garden was faring.  


He was pleased when Cas didn’t let go of his arm the entire time.  


When they turned around a corner, and Dean saw his freshly picked flowers resting on a chair, he jumped forward, grabbing the bundle before holding it out for Cas to accept.  


Cas started at the bouquet, his jaw slack in awe, and asked, "For me?"  


Dean nodded, feeling an overwhelming shyness consume his body.  


This was a bad idea.  


Nevertheless, he knew it was another item on his list of ways to court a dragon and he pushed himself forward to do it anyway, no matter how cheesy or ridiculous he felt.  


"Yeah" he answered, "They're for you. I, uh, I picked them out myself. Per your instructions, of course. I even used the right tools and everything..."  


He trailed off, cursing the light blush that rushed to his cheeks at Cas' adoring smile.  


Cas closed his eyes, burying his nose deep into the bundle and inhaling the sweet fragrance.  


"Thank you," he answered kindly, staring back up at Dean.  


They continued walking, Cas still holding onto his arm, cradling the flowers in his other. He pulled Dean to a stop and narrowed his eyes in slight confusion.  


“Dean?” he asked hesitantly.  


“Yes Cas?” he responded innocently.  


“Are you –?” He paused, rolling the words on his tongue before he seemed to change his mind and asked instead, "What were your plans now?"  


Dean shrugged, glancing at his watch (which he suspected wasn't working properly) and replied, "I thought maybe we could just sit and talk for a while, maybe over by the trees. We've still got some time before lunch and I figured it could be nice..."  


Cas stopped Dean from talking when he leaned forward and crushed his lips against his, speaking softly after he pulled away, "I'd like that."  


Eagerly, Dean grabbed Cas' hand pulling him along until they reached some trees, plopping onto the ground beneath the fresh apples and holding out his hand for Cas to join him.  


They sat on the ground, in the other's embrace, when Dean took a deep breath.  


The promise.  


He needed to remind Cas of his promise.  


Unsure of a subtle way to bring it up, he stated bluntly, "Remember how I promised you when I was a kid I would come back?"  


Cas looked up at Dean, squinting his eyes, "Yes?"  


Dean shifted in he seat before adding, "And I came back, right? I kept my promise?"  


Cas nodded slowly, "I suppose you did..."  


"Well," he took a brief moment to collect his thoughts, before continuing, "I just wanted to let you know, that I will always keep my promises and I will always be there for you..."  


Cas sat up in his spot, turning around to face Dean and accused, "You are courting me!"  


Dean blushed ferociously, but determinedly nodding his confirmation.  


Cas stared, his jaw dropped, as though he wasn't sure if he should be happy or confused.  


“Why?” he finally asked incredulously.  


Dean brow furrowed, “What do you mean why?”  


He leaned forward, cupping Cas’ face with his hands, looking deep into his eyes, “Cas, you’re it for me. From the moment I met you all those years ago, I knew you were the only one I wanted, the only one I could end up with. And when I found you again, I knew I would do whatever it took to make you happy.”  


He glanced down at Cas' hand, reaching forward with his own to entwine their fingers together before adding hesitantly, “If me backing off or letting you go your own way once we left the castle would be what made you happy I would do it. My heart would break, but I’d do it for you.”  


He watched Cas’ reaction carefully, his heart thumping as Cas looked worried, his head slightly shaking as though his body were subconsciously reacting to the idea.  


Encouraged, he brought his second hand down to cup the back of Cas' neck and pulled him foward, eager when Cas curled up easily into his embrace, nuzzling deep into his neck, “But if you want me, if it would make you as happy as it would make me, I would be honored for you to become my mate. Not as a means to an end, but because just standing next to you makes me happier than I’ve been in years.”  


Cas laughed into Dean’s collarbone, pulling back to look up at Dean with tears pooling in the corners of his eyes and a bright smile on his face.  


“I would love to become your mate.”  


Dean joined in with the laughter, lifting up Cas' chin with a finger to capture his lips on his own, trying to pour every ounce of happiness he felt with that one kiss.  


\--  


He knocked insistently on Benny’s door until he opened his eyes still blearily and a frown on his face.  


“What can I do for you?” he asked politely, his eyes flickering in between the two standing right in front of him.  


“He said yes!” Dean blurted out, turning to Cas again to kiss his temple and pulled his body closer to his own.  


“Congratulations,” Benny replied amused, folding his arm and leaning against the frame of the door, “So what now?”  


“Well,” Dean responded, trying to think of what he’d read about the ritual, “There’s supposed to be a ritual and some words spoken to bind us. And we’ll need an officiator.”  


Dean looked at Benny expectantly, who simply nodded his head, smiling, “I’d be honored.”  


“Thank you, Benny,” Cas interjected gratefully, a wide smile on his face that didn't seem to exist unless Dean was involved.  


"So, when are we doing this?"  


"As soon as we can," Dean said, turning to Cas and speaking softly, "I want this to be good for you. I really do. So you pick a time and tell Benny and I what we need to do."  


Cas nodded thinking carefully, "If I start now, we should be ready by tomorrow evening."  


"Just tell us what we need to do," Benny replied.  


Dean laughed happily, kissing Cas deeply, thrilled when he left his cheeks a lovely shade of pink.  


He was getting mated.  


Tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, life has been crazy! I originally wanted to add more, but I couldn't think what else to add! Finally I decided that I wanted to just publish it anyway, despite its small size. I'm hoping to get another chapter out in a day or two (it just needs to be edited) and the next chapter should MORE than make up for the lack of size on this one.
> 
> In any case, thank you again to those who have read and commented! You are all really wonderful and uplifting! :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look! Another chapter! :)
> 
> Happy Friday!

Dean tossed and turned in the bed he was lying in, unable to fall asleep. Castiel had insisted they sleep in separate rooms that night, stating it was customary for them to separate before rejoining the day of their mating.  


Personally, Dean thought that was stupid, but went along with the idea anyway, knowing it would make Cas happy.  


This was Castiel's mating day, after all. It was the least he could do to listen and follow every instruction Cas gave him. He was the expert (since he was the dragon).  


When he woke the next day, after finally having fallen asleep just a few short hours earlier, he jumped out of bed, pulled on some clothes, and raced out of the room down to the kitchen.  


They had discussed the night before that Cas and Benny would meet up in the morning so Cas could go through the words that Benny would have to speak as a part of their mating ritual. He had told them he wanted to practice the words with Benny, since the Enochian language (the language of the dragons) was so unfamiliar to humans. Benny agreed nervously, not wanting to completely butcher this foreign language, but Cas assured him that the pronunciation wasn't nearly as important as the feeling of the words being spoken.  


According to Cas, while speaking the words were important, it was the feeling of the words that cast the binding magic in the ritual.  


This explanation didn't seem to help calm Benny's nerves, but Castiel assured him that he would do just fine.  


While those two were off together working on that, Dean had decided that he would make breakfast for the three of them. His mentally patted himself on the back for his impeccable timing when Benny stepped in, a scowl on his face as he mumbled nonsensical words reaching forward to grab the plates, the same time Dean finished cooking.  


Dean smirked at his scowling friend, "You okay there, buddy?"  


Benny frowned further, his brow scrunched together in deep thought. He pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket, shoving it into Dean's hand as he picked up the plates he'd prepared.  


"Castiel said this was the schedule for today," Benny explained before rushing out of the room, still mouthing seemingly nonsensical words to himself, no doubt rehearsing his part of the ritual in effort to make sure he did it right.  


"Don't forget to add feeling!" Dean yelled after him, a bright smile on his face.  


"Fuck you," Benny's voice trailed back, causing Dean to bend over laughter.  


He was happy.  


Really happy.  


He smiled as he started taking bites from his food, smoothing out the paper Benny had shoved into his hand gently to read what Cas had written.  


_Ritual Schedule_  


_Dean, in hopes to help make this day run more smoothly, I have decided to write out what our schedule is expected to look like today:_  


_After you eat your breakfast, I request that you head upstairs and meet me in my room. There we will begin the first part of the ritual: the cleaning and dressing of mates. Once that is complete, we will walk down to the greenhouse where Benny will be waiting for us and recite the words of our bond. Afterwards, we will leave Benny and return back to my room where we will complete the last step of the ritual: the consummation of our bond. This ritual is significantly symbolic as well as contains powerful magic. Because of this, I have included a brief explanation of each of the parts, as well as the words (which I tried to write phonetically instead of using traditional Enochian characters so you would be able to follow along) you are required to speak as a part of the ritual, so you can be prepared for what is expected and included in today's events:_  


_1) Cleaning and Dressing of the Spouse – Purifying and Preparing the Mind/Soul and the Body_  


_In the first part of the ritual, the future mates will undress and clean each other’s bodies, using warm water and a soft rag. During this time, no words will be spoken. We will use this time to clear our minds of any doubts or worries we may have. In order for the bond to take, you must be absolutely sure that this is what you want. After our bodies are clean and our minds are clear, we will dress each other in the appropriate ceremonial robes (I will provide you with yours). Once we are completely ready, we will recite the following words to one another:_  


_* Ol bolape abramig adagita dalagare tofagilo ol barinu adagita nulanu el erm elasa *_

_Once these words are spoken, you will escort me down to the Greenhouse, where the next part of the ritual will take place._  


_2) Reciting the Words of the Bond – Binding our Mind and Soul as One_  


_In this part, we will stand facing each other while Benny stands at the head as we listen to him recite the words of the bond. Our hands will be joined together, as physical contact is important to help facilitate the magic that binds us together. When Benny finishes his part, we will each answer with the following statement:_

_* Ol aisaro adaagita apila adagita a uls, Adagita darbs od aboaperi_ _Erm tol a aziazor ol barinu adagita dalagare, Paid od vorns *_  


_Once we finish speaking, Benny will finish up the words of the bond and we will return back to my room to complete the last part of the ritual._  


_3) Consummating the Bond – Binding our Bodies as One_  


_At this point, we will undress one another and consummate our bond. Since I am a breeder, I will be the one to receive while you are the one who gives. Once we are joined together, we will speak the final words of the bond:_  


_* Elasa bolape azien od ol bolape lap elasa, Paid od vorns *_  


_Once these words are spoken, the bond is complete and the ritual is finished. We will clean up and convene down in the dining room, where Benny has graciously offered to cook us dinner in congratulations._  


Dean re-read through the words, not entirely sure if he was more nervous or excited. He hadn’t realized that he’d have to speak during this thing. He'd been under the impression he was just supposed to show up, which he was confident he could do.  


Speaking?  


That was a little more nerve racking.  


Of course, he'd never tell Benny that. The other man would never let him forget if he knew.  


Despite his nerves, according to the schedule, it sounded like he’d been naked with Cas for a huge chunk of the day, as well as topping when they had sex, which both sounded great to him.  


He knew he should probably be more concerned than what he was, after all this was a huge commitment. Once he was mated with Castiel, there was no turning back.  


No more one night stands.  


No more late nights drinking.  


No more making risky decisions that could endanger his life.  


Instead, he’d have someone to spend every night with, someone who would know him better than anyone else possibly could. Someone to come home to and to hold. Someone to drink with and share laughter and tender moments. Someone worth living for.  


Honestly, it didn’t seem like he was giving up hardly anything at all.  


He wanted this, he desperately did. And sure, maybe it was a little fast. After all, he really had only been here with Cas for just over a week. He knew that if Bobby were here, he’d smack Dean upside his head, call him an idgit, and ask him if he was outta his damn mind.  


Maybe he was.  


But, he couldn’t find it in himself to care.  


Somehow, he knew this is what he was supposed to do.  


From the moment he first laid eyes on Cas all those years ago to now, every action he did, every decision he ever made had led to this moment.  


Confident that he was doing the right thing, he scarfed down the rest of his breakfast and raced up to Cas’ room, eagerly opening the door.  


His shoulders dropped when he realized that Cas wasn’t there yet and sighed as he sat down on Cas’ bed. He closed his eyes, lying his head back against the blue pillow, breathing deeply as he waited for the other man to join him.  


Nearly an hour passed, in which he’s fairly certain he dozed off a couple of times, before he finally heard the bedroom door creak open.  


Dean shot straight up, a wide smile gracing his face as Cas walked shyly into the room.  


“Hello Dean,” Cas spoke deeply, standing firmly on the other side of the room.  


Dean smiled warmly back, remembering they weren’t supposed to speak during this part and unsure if he was allowed to say anything back.  


Cas stepped further into the room, walking over to the kitchen to grab a bowl and heat up some water.  


As he did so, he spoke up again, “Before we begin, I wanted to ask you if you had any questions for me.”  


Dean thought for a moment, stepping forward to stand across from the bar where Cas was standing, and pulled out the sheet of paper, pointing out the words, “Is it okay if I read the words straight from the paper?”  


Cas smiled, nodding his head, “Yes, that’s why I wrote them down for you. I didn’t think you would be able to memorize them on such short notice.”  


Dean shrugged. He probably could have if Cas had asked him to, but he wasn’t going to mention that now. He certainly didn’t mind having the words in front of him. It would definitely make it easier.  


“How do I pronounce them?” Dean asked, glancing back down at the foreign words.  


“As I mentioned, I tried to write them phonetically on the page so you would be able to sound them out,” Cas explained, feeling the water to check if it was warm yet, “But in the ritual I will speak the words first so you will be able to hear them spoken before you say them. In any case, as I told Benny, it is less about how the words are sounded and more about the intent in which the words are said. The Enochian language has powerful magic behind these words, and so you must speak it with feeling and desire for the bond to be formed. If you mispronounce a word, the bond will still be able to form.”  


“Hmm,” Dean replied thoughtfully, leaning on his elbows against the counter, “That sounds easy enough. I just gotta want it,” he smirked, winking at Cas who simply rolled his eyes in response.  


“It’s more than just wanting it, Dean,” he answered exasperatedly, “This magic creates a serious bond that cannot be broken. You have to long to have it with every molecule of your being. Unless you have that, the bond will not take.”  


Dean’s heart thumped in his chest for a moment as he thought over these words.  


He wanted this, he knew he wanted this. But what if it wasn’t enough? It wasn’t as though he’d had a stellar dad to show him how to be a good spouse.  


He glanced up at Cas who was watching him nervously, his teeth biting his lower lip as he waited for Dean to respond.  


Dean smiled, feeling a wave of calm fly through his chest and leaned forward, cupping Cas’ face in his hands, “I want this, Cas. I want you. I’m all in, 100%. Trust me. You have nothing to worry about.”  


Cas sighed in relief, smiling lovingly at Dean, as though all his worries had just faded away.  


They stood in comfortable silence, while Dean re-read the words again, speaking his thoughts out loud, “What do the words mean?”  


Cas leaned forward, pointing to each phrase and answered, “ _‘Ol bolape abramig adagita dalagare tofagilo ol barinu adagita nulanu el erm elasa’_ translates to ‘I am prepared to give all I have to become one with you’.”  


His finger trailed down to the next section of words and continued, “ _‘Ol aisaro adaagita apila adagita a uls, Adagita darbs od aboaperi, Erm tol a aziazor ol barinu adagita dalagare, Paid od vorns’_ means ‘I promise to live to the end to obey and serve with all the love I have to give, forever and ever’.”  


He pointed out the last line and finished, “And this one: _‘Elasa bolape azien od ol bolape lap elasa, Paid od vorns’_ is interpreted as ‘You are mine, and I am for you, forever and ever’.”  


Dean smiled, nodding at the meanings, “I like that,” he spoke softly.  


“Me too,” Cas whispered, gazing into Dean’s eyes.  


They stood there for a long period of time, seeming lost in the other’s gaze before they seemed to come to themselves. Cas cleared his throat and he looked down at the ground, stepping back and taking a deep breath. He grabbed the bowls of now hot water and brought them over the small table that he often ate at.  


"Did you have any other questions?" Cas asked, busying himself getting everything ready.  


Dean hesitated before he asked timidly, "What will it feel like? Once we're officially mated. Like...will there be a bright light that binds us together or am I going to feel a surge of magic burst into my chest?"  


Out of everything, the magic thing (and the prolonged age) was the only thing he really worried about.  


Cas stopped his movements, thinking carefully for a moment before answering, "I do not believe so. From what I've been told, if the ritual has been done properly, then the intended mates won't feel anything, simply easing effortlessly into the bond. Eventually, you may feel a slight tug at the presence of magic, but you shouldn't feel a burst of energy or anything of the sorts."  


Dean nodded, unsure whether this answer helped to ease his worries or made them worse.  


He shook off his thoughts, smiling back up at Cas and asked, "So, what now?"  


Cas smiled shyly back, “Well, now we’ll start with the first part of the ritual. We'll begin with you undressing me, and then I will undress you. We'll each be given a cloth that we can use to clean the other. I will begin with cleaning you and then you will do the same to me. In addition to wiping down my body, you will also be required to groom my wings, as I will be in my true resting form during the entirety of the ritual.”  


Dean smiled, his eyes shifting to look at the bracelet on Cas’ wrist, excited for it to come off again.  


“How do I groom your wings?” he asked, wanting to make sure he got this all right.  


“It’s fairly simple,” Cas started, “At the base of my wings, beneath my scales; I have a couple of oil glands. You’ll touch these glands to get some oil onto your fingers and brush them through my wings. Any loose or old feathers will fall out easily, and the rest of them will be cleaned and protected with the oil. You will have to do this first, and then wipe me down with the cloth afterwards to remove any excess oil from my skin.”  


Dean nodded seriously, “Okay, yeah. I can do that.”  


“From there, we will walk over to the chests I have set up at the other end of the room,” Cas pointed to two elaborate chests he hadn’t noticed when he first walked in, “and dress in the garments contained inside. We may need to help each other to dress as sometimes it can difficult to do on one’s own.”  


“No complaints here,” Dean replied cheekily.  


Cas ignored him and continued, “As I mentioned on your paper, after we are finished with this, we will then go down to the green house where Benny is waiting for us. He will complete his part of the ritual, in binding us together. Afterwards, we will return to this room and…”  


Cas blushed lightly, so Dean interjected, “Have sex.”  


“Yes,” Cas replied, his blush darkening further, “And that’s it. Do you have any questions?”  


“Yeah,” Dean said, skimming through the words on his paper before asking, “What’s up with this vow of silence thing? When am I allowed to talk and when do I have to stay quiet?”  


“Good question,” Cas answered, causing Dean to chuckled lightly, “Once we start the ritual, you will not be allowed to speak. The most important time for this silence is during the first part, as this is when you are to clear your mind of any concerns or worries. This is to help solidify the bond and ensure that the words you speak will be spoken with that desire and longing I mentioned before. Once we leave this room, we may speak, but only if necessary and only in hushed tones. As soon as we enter the Greenhouse, we will be undertaking our vow of silence once again.”  


Cas continued, “After the Greenhouse, the same rules apply as we walk back to the room. We may speak, but only if necessary and in hushed tones. Once we begin the third part of the ritual, we are encouraged not to speak, but to simply feel. However,” Cas blushed again, “if you feel so inclined to speak, it will not hurt the bond in anyway.”  


“That’s good,” Dean teased, stepping forward to brush his fingers through Cas’ hair, “Because I tend to be loud when I feel really good.”  


Cas ducked his head down, trying to hide his bright red cheeks.  


Dean lifted up his head, kissing the reddened skin and whispered, “I love it when you blush.”  


Cas cleared his throat and spoke up, “One last thing I failed to mention before is that you’re not allowed to kiss me until we reach the third stage of the ritual.”  


Dean frowned, “That’s a lame rule.”  


Cas shrugged, apparent relief as he finally was able to tamp down his blush and his normal coloring returned, “A matter of order is required for the bond to take. First the mind must join and then the body after. However, once we are cleaned, our hands will be joined the entire time to help our minds to connect.”  


Dean sighed dramatically, winking at Cas to show him he was teasing, “Fine. I guess I will show some self-control.”  


Cas chuckled, nodding to the two bowls and cloth resting on the table beside them.  


“Are you ready?” he asked nervously, as though he were afraid that Dean was going to back out now.  


Dean simply leaned forward and kissed the air in front of Cas' forehead, seeing as he wasn't allowed to actually touch yet, and spoke softly, breathing over the tight skin, “There’s nothing I want more.”  


Cas smiled before he stood up straight and announced, “Then now marks the moment when we will officially begin.”  


Dean smiled, reminding himself that from this point on, he wasn’t allowed to talk. He stepped forward, eager to rid Cas of his clothes, and immediately reached for his wrist first, pulling off the bracelet. Cas’ mouth formed a small ‘o’ as though he were surprised that this was the first piece Dean wanted gone from his body.  


He still wasn’t sure why Cas seemed to be so self-conscious of his true form. Not only were his wings and scales completely breath-taking, but he seriously looked bad-ass. If Dean had his way, Cas would never wear his bracelet again, although he knew this was probably unrealistic.  


Shaking his head, he reach forward to gently unbutton the robes Cas was wearing, allowing it to fall to the ground. He slipped down the boxers Cas was wearing underneath, eager that he had on such few amounts of clothing and was now standing completely naked in front of him.  


For someone who seemed to blush so much, Dean was surprised to see how confident Cas appeared despite having no clothes. Dean let his arms rest at his sides as Cas stepped forward, taking his turn to rid Dean of his own garments.  


Cas took his time as he unbuttoned the shirt Dean wore, pulling the garment off and resting it on a chair. He reached forward to unclasp his trousers, sliding his fingers beneath his boxers, and pulled the two garments down his legs together in one swift motion. Dean quickly stepped out of the clothes, standing awkwardly as Cas turned to the grab a cloth and wet it in the warm water.  


Dean closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of the damp material run lightly over his chest. There was a light breeze in the room that came from who knew where that made it cool, but not quite uncomfortable. He focused on Cas’ hands as he glided down Dean’s skin, ensuring to reach every single nook and cranny.  


His eyes flew open when Cas’ soft hands ran over his balls, the cloth not far behind. He bit his lip to prevent a moan from coming out, guessing that that probably wasn’t allowed, and tried not to focus on how good it felt and how Cas was running his fingers along his shaft now, leaving him half hard.  


What was he supposed to be thinking about right now?  


Oh yes, he was supposed to be getting rid of all doubts he may have.  


He looked down at Cas, whose stare was focused and concentrated on the cloth running down the top of Dean’s thighs as he knelt down on the ground in front of him.  


Dean’s eyes rolled back into his head as he bit his lip harder.  


There were certainly no doubts in his mind right now.  


When Cas finished, he placed his now dirty cloth in the bowl of used water and placed it off to the side.  


He smiled shyly, before turning around and extending his wings to give Dean access to the oil glands he’d explained about earlier.  


Dean’s eyes gazed over Cas’ entire body, still having a hard time processing that a little later he was being given permission to completely explore this body in front of him, and stepped forward hesitantly reaching his fingers to the cluster of scales between his shoulder blades and pushed around until he felt some oil flow onto his fingers.  


Bingo.  


Dean reached to the side, happily running his fingers through the soft feathers, starting at the top and working his way through until every single feather shined. He continued on the other side, frequently returning to the glands to get some more oil, listening for any sounds that indicate Cas is uncomfortable.  


Other than some heavy labored breathing (which he suspected indicated the opposite of pain), Cas was completely silent.  


He stepped back marveling his work, amazed at how the feathers glimmered in the sunlight that peaked through the windows. With the oil on them, his normally black feathers seemed to shine a rainbow of dark colors. Blue, green, purple, and red were spread through, only becoming apparent in the right light before turning back to their normal black.  


He watched the change, completely mesmerized, before Cas’ head turned back, his eyebrow raised as he tried to figure out why Dean had stopped.  


Dean shrugged sheepishly, before quickly grabbing the cloth, wiping down his own hands before beginning on Cas’ body.  


He followed in the same pattern Cas’ had done before, starting at his head and trailing down to his feet.  


He forced himself not to linger as he knelt down on the ground, taking extra care to wipe down Cas’ shaft. He glanced up at Cas who was watching him carefully, his eyes dark and Dean suspected was clouded with lust.  


It took every ounce of self-control Dean had not to simply reach forward and wrap his lips around the tip of Cas’ cock, to give it a quick taste. But, he reminded himself that if this bond were to work, he needed to follow the rules.  


Damn, he hated the rules.  


He focused his mind on the reason why he was doing this, repeating over and over: _I need him. I need Cas._  


Feeling under control once again, he finished wiping down his legs and feet and stood up, placing his cloth back into the bowl, mimicking the action that Cas had done before.  


Cas held out his hand, to which Dean eagerly accepted, and followed him to the two golden chests. They were both nearly identical, except one had warm jewels that ranged from red, orange, and yellow, while the other had the cool colors of blue, purple, and green.  


Cas pointed to the warm jewels and pointed to Dean, while he indicated that the cool jewels were for himself. Dean nodded, indicating he understood and stepped forward to open his chest.  


The garments inside were fairly self-explanatory he thought. There was a black cotton slip he threw over his head first, along with royal purple robes that followed right after. The purple robes had golden trims along the sleeves, bottom, and neck of the garment, and buttons down the back he knew he’d never be able to reach.  


He turned to Cas, to have him help him out, and paused to gaze at the robes Cas himself had put on.  


They were similar to his own but seemed pure as they were a glimmering white with the golden trims. Cas smiled shyly, pointing to Dean’s buttons before stepping forward to clasp each gold knob into place. He turned around and allowed Dean to do the same.  


Dean turned back to his chest, reminding himself that the sooner he put these clothes on, the sooner he could pull Cas out of his, and rummaged through, noticing there were no underwear.  


Sweet. Looks like they were going commando. That certainly wasn’t a problem with him.  


He opened a side compartment, pulling it out to reveal a small hoard of ostentatious jewelry, holding back a smile and he examined it.  


It didn’t surprise him, he was mating a dragon after all.  


He lifted over the golden gawdy necklace, glimmering with amethysts and placed it on his breast, slipping on the several matching bracelets and rings.  


He turned to Cas who was doing the same, only his were full of glittering diamonds.  


He looked at the bottom for a pair of shoes or something to place on his feet, and when he found none, shrugged it off, mentally declaring himself as done.  


He turned to Cas who was finishing up himself before retrieving his last item (another ring) and placing it on his finger.  


He smiled at Dean holding out his hand and lifted an eyebrow as if to ask Dean if he was ready.  


Dean nodded and he waited for Cas to speak.  


“Ol bolape abramig adagita dalagare tofagilo ol barinu adagita nulanu el erm elasa,” he spoke, his voice deeper than Dean remembered it being.  


Dean took a deep breath, bending over to grab the piece of paper the he’d placed on the bed and read back, “Ol bolape abramig adagita dalagare tofagilo ol barinu adagita nulanu el erm elasa.”  


_‘I am prepared to give all I have to become one with you.’_  


Cas smiled brightly, as though he couldn’t hold himself back any longer and reached for Dean’s arm.  


Dean eagerly complied, allowing Cas’ arm to weave through his own and guided him out of the room.  


As soon as the door closed behind them, Dean blurted out, “You’re absolutely beautiful.”  


Cas blushed ducking his head, his eyes twinkling brightly as his wings fluttered behind him, but chose not to speak back. Dean knew they weren’t technically supposed to talk unless they really had to, but he knew that he couldn’t hold back those words any longer.  


Cas truly was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen in his entire life.  


The smooth stone floor of the castle was cold beneath his bare feet as he walked with Cas down to where Benny had said he would be waiting.  


When they walked in, Dean’s eyes widened, thoroughly impressed as he looked at the archway of flowers that definitely hadn’t been there the night before. His gaze focused on Benny, who was standing in the center of the arch, waiting for the two to join him.  


Dean stood straighter, preening slightly as he noticed Benny’s gaze completely transfixed on the man who stood on Dean’s arm. He was proud that he was the one who was able to take Cas as his own.  


Benny shook his head and cleared his throat, brushing imaginary dust off of his own plain black robes as he regained his composure (much to Dean’s amusement), before speaking out loud.  


“Before we begin, I give permission to Castiel to speak as a translator to Dean the words that are being spoke during the ceremony.”  


Dean turned to Cas, surprised that he was allowed to do this, and felt grateful for this small act of kindness. Now he'd be able to know what Benny was saying, instead of just standing there listening to the other man ramble on in a language he knew nothing about.  


He stood still, watching closely as Benny grabbed two crowns of flowers that were connected together with a purple and white ribbon. He placed one crown (with purple and yellow flowers and dark green leaves) on Dean’s head and the other (with pure white and light yellow-gold flowers and green leaves) onto Cas’ head, with the ribbons connecting the two together.  


Cas’ hand trailed down Dean’s arm until his fingers intertwined with his own, nodding that they were ready for Benny to begin.  


Benny took a deep breath, grabbing a thick book and skimming over the words on the page one last time before he spoke in his smooth drawl.  


“A a olapireta de a basgim: pala niis commah od noalanu el.”  


Cas bent forward slightly, speaking very quietly in Dean’s ear, “ _In the light of the day: two come together and become one._ ”  


Benny continued, “Oi pola bolape paid od bolape lap tol acocasahe.”  


“ _This pair is forever and is for all time_ ,” Cas breathed.  


“Adagita saanir tol par barinu, adagita noalanu micaelazodo ta el.”  


Although some of his words were spoken with slight hesitation, his accent made the language sound beautiful, and Dean had no doubt that Benny spoke with that feeling that Cas had instructed him to speak with.  


Dean listened closely as Cas translated, “ _To share all they have, to become strong as one._ ”  


“Basagime bolape a basgim,” Benny spoke, becoming more confident with every word spoken, “Emna blape a oanio...”  


“ _Today is the day, here is the moment…_ ”  


“Adagita apila.”  


“ _To live_ ,” Cas breathed.  


“Adagita aboaperi.”  


“ _To serve_ ,” he continued, leaning closer to Dean’s ear.  


“Adagita aziazor.”  


“ _To love_ ,” his lips brushed against the edge of Dean’s ear, causing chills to run down his spine.  


Cas leaned back as Benny turned to him and asked, “Conisa elasa aschaniis zomdv alca adagita darbs od aboaperi el manada?”  


Cas nodded and replied, “Ol aisaro adaagita apila adagita a uls, Adagita darbs od aboaperi, Erm tol a aziazor ol barinu adagita dalagare, Paid od vorns.”  


Benny turned to Dean and repeated, “Conisa elasa aschaniis zomdv alca adagita darbs od aboaperi el manada?”  


Cas whispered, further away from his ear than he had been before, “ _Do you welcome your purpose to obey and serve one another?_ ”  


Dean nodded, forgetting what he was supposed to do for a moment before scrambling to grab his paper and repeated the words on his page, “Ol aisaro adaagita apila adagita a uls, Adagita darbs od aboaperi, Erm tol a aziazor ol barinu adagita dalagare, Paid od vorns.”  


_I promise to live to the end to obey and serve with all the love I have to give, forever and ever._  


Benny nodded at Dean, his eyes crinkling as he smiled back at him and straightened out the words on his page, “Elada bolape el a congamphlgh. Comma helasa bolape turbs.”  


“ _You are one in mind and soul. Together you are beautiful_ ,” Cas breathed out, as though he could barely believe the words applied to himself.  


Benny finished, with a wave of his hand, “Niis od noalanu el.”  


Cas turned to Dean, biting his lip as a smile crept onto his face and translated, “ _Go and become one._ ”  


Dean mouthed thank you to Benny who repeated his shooing motion to urge the two to leave and finish out the last part of the ritual.  


Dean took deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart as he quickly led Cas back to his room.  


He had so much he wanted to say, and didn’t feel like there was enough time.  


What he needed to do now was finish the bond.  


He closed the door to Cas’ bedroom behind him, refusing to let go of his hand and he looked at Cas in his ceremonial robes one last time.  


He was almost sad that they were removing him from these clothes, as they were completely breath-taking.  


But, off they must come, for the next part was the part Dean was most excited about.  


He hesitated, watching Cas carefully, unsure if he was allowed to just go for it or if there was something else that needed to be done first when Cas unknowingly answered his silent question by lunging forward, his lips crashing into Dean’s.  


Dean moaned slightly, not caring in the least about the supposed vow of silence and kissed back fervently, already feeling addicted to Cas’ kisses.  


He fumbled at the buttons on the back of Cas’ robes as he felt him do the same to his and eagerly felt them give, pulling the garment off of his shoulders. He reached down once his fell and grabbed the slip, lifting it up over his head, eager that Cas was doing the same.  


The slip caught onto the crown of flowers that had been placed on their heads, tangling in with the ribbons, which caused Dean to pause and start laughing.  


Cas, who’s arm and ruffled feathers were tangled in with the material, scowled at the noise.  


Dean bent forward, kissing Cas sweetly on his nose before helping him to pull off the slip, setting the flower crowns (which were surprisingly unharmed in the tussle) on a chair.  


Feeling a little less hurried than before, they helped each other pull off each item of jewelry and setting it to the side, until they were completely rid of everything.  


Dean bent forward, kissing Cas again sweetly, biting his lower lip, deciding that it was his new goal to get Cas to break his silence (preferably by screaming out his name, but he would be satisfied at the very least with a moan), and pushed him back onto his bed.  


They continued kissing, with Cas eagerly sucking on Dean’s tongue while his hands ran down his smooth body. It felt so natural for the two of them to be together, despite there being numerous reasons why it shouldn’t be. Dean loved the contrast of the cold and warm from scales to skin.  


His lips trailed down Cas’ body, wanting to taste the skin. He eagerly kissed around the base of Cas' cock, before reaching up to suck on the tip, frowning when Cas still hadn’t made a sound other than heavy breathing.  


He caught Cas’ eye, winking at the other man, and continued sucking and running his tongue on the underside of his cock, doing everything he could to distract him from what he was planning on doing next.  


His finger reached back, hovering over Cas’ wet hole (slick with the same substance that he’d felt before) before dipping inside. Dean’s eyes flickered up, excited when he realized that Cas was so focused on Dean’s mouth and not making any noise, that he hadn’t noticed the intrusion.  


He continued, slipping in his finger further, excruciatingly slowly as to try not to alert the man writhing beneath him. He continued adding a second finger unbeknownst to him and searched around the side of the walls until he found what he was looking for.  


Rubbing mercilessly against his prostate, as well cupping the dragon’s balls and swallowing against the head of his cock, Cas’ cried out with a loud moan, his hips thrusting up to try and get more.  


Feeling satisfied and successful at accomplishing his goal, Dean stopped his teasing and let off slightly, adding in a third finger and simply kissing all around Cas’ stomach and thighs.  


Wanting to make sure he was extra prepared, he decided to add a fourth finger, stretching Cas out in preparation for himself, loving every single breathy sigh Cas responded with.  


Cas whimpered slightly when Dean removed his fingers, but spread his legs further, eager for Dean to be completely inside of him.  


He kissed Cas’ thighs a couple more times before bending forward, lining up his cock with his hole carefully.  


He pressed his lips gently against Cas’ as he slowly pushed in.  


Simultaneously, the two moaned into the other’s mouth at the sensation, panting into each other's mouths as Dean bottomed out.  


“Dean,” Cas whispered, looking him in the eyes, to show he was desperate for more.  


Knowing Cas wouldn’t have spoken out loud for anything less than a desperate need, he complied, slowly thrusting in and out. His hips moved faster and faster, trying to come in at different angles until he found the one that had Cas call out, “Uhh, Dean, yes…yes, Dean…please.”  


He moaned Cas’ name in response, thrusting at the exact angle as the two clung onto each other. Their lips found each other again, moving frantically against the other, until Dean’s hips stuttered, feeling his release shooting out.  


He lifted his hand up, tugging on Cas a couple of times, glad when he immediately followed after in white spurts across his stomach and felt his elbows collapse, falling on top of Cas’ body.  


They both stayed still for a moment, trying to catch their breaths when Cas finally spoke softly, “Elasa bolape azien.”  


“Elasa bolape azien,” Dean repeated, lying his head on Cas’ chest, listening to his loud heartbeat.  


_You are mine._  


“Od ol bolape lap elasa,” Cas continued, stroking his fingers through Dean’s hair gently.  


Dean kissed Cas’ collarbone and spoke into his skin, “Od ol bolape lap elasa.”  


_And I am for you._  


He glanced up at Cas, who was smiling down at him as he finished the last words, “Paid od vorns.”  


Dean reached up, pressing a light kiss against Cas’ lips, and spoke against his flesh, “Paid od vorns.”  


_Forever and ever._  


\--  


They laid in each other’s arms for several hours, simply relishing in the feeling they had being embraced with one another, before Cas finally convinced Dean to get up, stating that Benny was downstairs waiting for them.  


Dean tried to assure Cas that Benny was a big boy and he would be okay if they ditched out on dinner to spend more time naked together in bed. Cas frowned, unimpressed, and ordered Dean to get dressed.  


When they arrived downstairs, Dean moaned at the savory smell of the feast Benny had prepared, grateful that Cas had convinced him to come down.  


“Congratulations you two!” Benny called out, holding his arms open.  


Dean stepped forward, grabbing him in a hug, and allowing himself to be embraced by his friend.  


"Feel any different?" Benny asked curiously, pulling back to scrutinize his friend and Prince.  


Dean paused for a moment, considering how he felt before he answered the question.  


He glanced at Cas who was eagerly waiting for a response as well, and said, "Honestly? No. I'm just happy. Really, really happy."  


Cas looked down, smiling brightly at Dean's answer, while Benny simply laughed and patted Dean's cheek.  


"Good," Benny answered before he turned to Cas, and pulled him into a deep hug, much to his surprise. When he pulled back he smiled at the two before speaking seriously.  


“I know that I had my concerns initially, but I wanted to let you both know that I truly am excited for you. And I wanted to make a vow to you both,” he spoke as he bent down onto one knee, his head bowed, “That just as I have made a promise to His Highness, the Crowned Prince, Dean of Winchester, I extend that promise to his mate, Prince Castiel. I swear on my life that I will protect and follow all commands given to me by Your Highness, until the day I die.”  


Castiel gasped, bending forward to fall to his knees and pulled Benny into a hug once again.  


“Thank you,” he breathed softly, his eyes full of wonder at the vow this man just gave.  


Dean smiled happily, glad that he had Benny there, and helped Cas to stand, nodding at Benny to stand as well.  


“Thank you,” Dean answered seriously.  


“Of course,” Benny replied simply, “Now let’s eat.”  


\--  


As expected the food was delicious and the company was better. As Dean sank into his and Cas’ bed that night, Cas’ naked body wrapped around his own, he couldn’t help but let out a satisfied sigh.  


He didn’t know what tomorrow would bring, but he had Cas on his side.  


His mate for life.  


And right now, it felt like that was all that he needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again for your comments and kudos and love! I really appreciate hearing from all of you. 
> 
> If you noticed, I've updated to reflect that there are going to be 13 chapters. I've got the rest outlined and a decent chunk written, so we're heading on towards the end!
> 
> Also, as a side note: I chose purple and gold for Dean because he is the future King and purple is the color of royalty, while Cas is white and gold to symbolize his purity, as well as celebrate that he is a breeder and the one who furthers the race. 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed the chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More story! Yay!
> 
> And I haven't forgotten about Mister Bartholomew! He makes an appearance in this chapter.

The next day Dean was forced back into reality as the three joined back in the library, still searching for a way to sneak out of the castle.  


“It’s impossible,” Cas argued back, his head buried deep into his hands, “And now you’re mated, and stuck with me here. You can’t leave without me, and I can’t leave at all.”  


Dean placed his hand on Cas’ shoulders, trying to speak comfortingly, “Cas, baby, we’ll find a way. I promise."  


He shrugged the hand off his shoulder, throwing his hands into the air, "You can't promise me that. You don't know what's going to happen! I selfishly convinced you to mate me and now you're damned to spend the rest of your life as a prisoner with me."  


Dean sighed, grabbing Cas shoulders and turning his body towards him so his attention was focused on him.  


"Castiel," he spoke sternly, "You did not selfishly convince me to mate you. We decided together. Heck, I'm the one that asked you in the first place, so if anything, this whole mess is my fault."  


Cas opened his mouth, probably to assure him none of this was his fault, so Dean shook his head, interrupting him before he could speak.  


"Cas, it doesn't matter who's at fault here. What matters is that it happened and that we're in this together. Even if we do spend the rest of our life here behind these dark walls, it will be the greatest life I could possibly imagine because I will be with you."  


Cas scoffed, clearly not believing Dean, but kept his mouth shut anyway.  


Dean continued, lifting his hand up to brush the pad of his thumb against Cas' jaw, "But we will get you out of here. I promise you, Cas."  


"Dean," Cas began dejectedly.  


"Cas," Dean mimicked, much to Cas' dismay, "Have I ever broken a promise I made to you?"  


Cas frowned, answering hesitantly, "Technically no, but..."  


Dean smiled, interrupting him again, "And I don't intend to start. Okay?"  


Cas signed defeated, nodding his head I'm agreement, "Okay."  


He allowed Dean to wrap his arms around him, holding him against his chest tightly while he whispered in his ear, "It'll be okay Cas. You'll see."  


He looked over to Benny who had ignored Cas' mini freak out, in favor of rubbing his temple.  


"What's up, Benny?" Dean diverted, refusing to let Cas out of his embrace.  


"Cas is right. There's nothing here..."  


Dean glared at Benny as he felt Cas' shoulders tense. He'd just calmed his mate down, damn it! He didn't need any other problems arising...  


Benny held out his hands in defense and amended, "I'm not saying we're not going to be able to figure it out. I'm saying it's mighty difficult when two of us have no clue what we're actually up against."  


Dean frowned, knowing the other man was absolutely right. No matter how many times Cas tried to explain, it was nearly impossible to do. The idea of this strange army guarding the walls was a difficult concept for Dean to grasp, having never experienced anything like it before. All he really knew was there was a powerful sorcerer turned into horrific creature playing as the Master puppeteer.  


Benny hesitated before turning to look at Cas, whose head has poked out from his hiding spot nestled against Dean's neck, and frowning apologetically, his eyes full of sorrow, "I think Dean was right before and our best shot is to just go out there and take the risk."  


Cas let out a growl, shaking his head adamantly, "No. No you can't."  


He stood from his spot, pacing back and forth as he muttered angrily to himself, "I won't let you do it. I refuse! It's madness! The worst possible idea you could ever have!"  


He turned back to Dean, clinging onto his shirt and pulled him tight against his body, pressing his face into the side of his neck and he muttered into the warm skin, "Please don't do this. I just found you. I can't lose you now."  


Dean glanced at Benny, who thankfully was already grabbing a few of his things together, watched as he slipped quietly out of the room, leaving Dean and Cas alone.  


"Cas..." Dean started, having no clue where to go from there.  


Cas was right, it was a fucking stupid idea to run out unprepared. But hell, what were their options at this point? They'd already been here at the castle for a lot longer than Dean had wanted to be. He needed to get back.  


Choosing to stay silent as his mind raced for an idea of what he could say to placate his new mate, he ran his hand up and down Cas' back as the other man clutched tightly, holding him close in return. They stood their in each other's embrace, taking comfort in feeling their warm skin pressed together despite this shitty situation they were forced into.  


Several long minutes passed by before Cas finally looked up from his spot, his blue eyes searching Dean's green as though they held all the answers of the universe before asking frustrated, "Would it really be so bad just to stay here?"  


Dean thought for a moment, lifting his hand to brush his fingers against Cas' jaw as he thought.  


_Would_ it be a bad thing?  


Taking his silence as permission to continue speaking, Cas babbled on, "I mean, with my garden, we have plenty of food to eat and there's lots of books for us to read. And quite frankly, I wouldn't mind just spending my days in bed with you anyway, and it doesn't particularly matter where we are to do that..."  


Dean snorted, agreeing with the sentiment. If he could spend every day with Cas in bed, preferably naked, for the rest of his life he would be a very happy man.  


"I mean, yes, technically we're prisoners, but it's not as if we're living in constant oppression. This life wouldn't be a bad one, right? We would have no responsibilities and we could be together. Would it be so wrong for us to just stay?"  


Dean smiled sadly as he ran his fingers through Cas' dark hair. As much as he loved Cas, he couldn’t stay here forever. Not if it meant he had to leave his family behind. He had a duty to them and to his kingdom as a brother, a son, and their future King.  


Besides, he had made a promise to Bobby he would return (and before coronation) and he intended to keep that promise.  


So, he lifted Cas' chin so he was staring straight into his eyes and asked simply, “Would you be happy if we stayed here?”  


He wasn’t surprised when Cas immediately answered, “No.”  


Dean continued, “I think you already have your answer.”  


Cas buried his head back into the skin and breathed deeply. It was another moment of silence before Cas admitted meekly, “I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”  


Dean opened his mouth, to assure him that nothing bad was going to happen, but stopped himself.  


He couldn’t promise that. He had no clue what was going to happen.  


Not only when they attempted their escape, but also once had they returned to the castle.  


Instead, he brought his hand back to Cas' soft hair and calmly brushed his fingers through the other man's silky strands and spoke plainly, “I can’t promise you nothing bad will ever happen to us, because bad times will come. Storms will come our way, and there may be moments that it takes all our efforts just to simply weather it and hold on to each other as tight as we can.”  


He continued, pressing a kiss onto the top of his head, “But I can promise you I will always be there for you. No matter what happens, we’re in this together. Together, we can overcome any storm that comes our way.”  


Cas nodded his head, sighing a small defeat sigh before staring back up at Dean answered determinedly, “Okay.”  


Dean raised an eyebrow, “Okay?”  


Cas nodded, his eyes set with a focus that Dean hadn't seen in him before, “Let’s get out of here. I'm sick of these walls, sick of not being able to walk around the castle grounds. I want to feel the sun against my skin, I want to stretch my wings and fly, I want...”  


He stared up at Dean, smiling shyly, "I want to go home. With you. I want to live and not just let life pass by me anymore."  


He brought his hand down squeezing Dean's hand tightly and announced, "I'm ready. I'm ready to do what is necessary to get my freedom back."  


Dean smiled brightly, bending down to kiss Cas firmly, wanting to show him how proud he was of him.  


He knew this was no small decision. After all, Cas had been stuck behind these walls for a really long time, and had all but given up previously. This was a huge step for him to admit that he's ready to fight back.  


"We got this, Cas," Dean assured him, before turning to look at the closed door of the library and called out, “Hey Benny!”  


Dean's suspicions that Benny hadn't gone further than two steps out into the hall were confirmed when a mere moment later, the burly man poked his head back in through the door frame. A simple glance at the man's subtle smirk and raised eyebrow proved that he had heard the majority of their conversation and didn't need to be caught up on what the plan was.  


"Looks like our time here has ended," Dean spoke with fake nonchalance, as he turned Cas' body to face the other man, slinging his arm over his shoulders and leaning against him casually.  


"Looks like," Benny answered, mimicking his posture as he rested against the open door frame.  


"What do you say we blow this bitch?" Dean asked, winking cockily at the other man before pressing a wet kiss onto Cas' cheek.  


"There's nothing I'd like more," Benny agreed.  


Dean glanced at the two men beside him, once again reminding himself how glad that he was stuck in this mess with these two over any one else.  


\--  


Dean stared at the pile of books he'd tripped over, glaring at them in hopes that maybe if he stared hard enough, flames would catch onto the pages and light the offending pile into a beautiful ball of eternal flame.  


Yes, he needed to burn those mother fuckers down.  


Unfortunately, Cas did not feel the same way.  


"Oh, while you're over there, could you pass me that pile?"  


Dean stared at the pile, quickly counting how many books there were (42 - and it was one of the smaller piles in the room), shaking his head exasperatedly.  


It had been several days since they had decided to simply leave the castle behind and take their chances against the monstrous Leviathans supposedly waiting for them right outside their doors. At this rate, Dean guessed it would be a few more until they actually (finally) left.  


Dean was ready to leave at that moment when they'd decided. He wanted to march out those doors while they had momentum and metaphorically grab the bull by its horns.  


Surprisingly, it was Benny who had talked him down from the ledge and told him they should pack up and prepare for the long journey ahead, as well as get a good nights rest before making their way.  


That sounded reasonable, so Dean accepted.  


If he would have known what "packing" had entailed, he may not have been so inclined to agree so quickly.  


He supposed there were certain useful things that he learned from their time they spent packing. He had learned previously that there were a lot of lies about dragons that had been inserted into their history (things like they were overly violent, which had labeled them as monsters). But, he was now starting to see that intermingled with all the lies, there were a few truths spread among the mix.  


Although, in all honestly, he wasn't entirely sure that him learning this was in fact considered a good thing.  


As a kid, one of the things he remembers learning about dragons was their obsessive nature to hoard piles of glittering gold. After meeting Cas, he could clearly see this was a lie. After all, Cas didn't seem to own anything ostentatious, unless it served some sort of greater purpose (like the jewelry they wore during their mating ritual). He would even go as far as to bet that if someone presented Cas with a room full of chests overflowing with precious gold and gems, the dragon wouldn't even bat an eye.  


So, the gold thing, definitely a lie.  


The hoarding thing however...  


"Cas, we can't pack all of these books," Dean said, rubbing his eyes as though it would help to make his head ache go away.  


"But Dean, what if we need them!"  


That had been his argument for the whole day. Cas had insisted that they pack and take with them every single book in that damn library.  


When he had announced this with a determined look in his eye, Dean immediately shook his head, his eyes wide at he took in the hundreds (if not thousands) of books in the impressive library.  


He assured the stubborn man that the library he had in his Kingdom was great, and that they had even more books than this one did (Sam, the little nerd, had made sure of that).  


Cas merely insisted that he needed to take these books to add to Dean's collection.  


They fought long and hard before they finally came to a compromise: Cas could pack and bring with him one bag of books. Anymore was impractical! They didn't need the extra weight carrying them down, not to mention Dean had no clue how they would have transported all of those books in the first place.  


Cas was quiet for a long time, thinking through the proposition before he finally agreed.  


Which, really, should have worried Dean.  


"Please," Cas stated, fluttering his eyelashes innocently as he waited for Dean to follow through with his request.  


It took less than 5 seconds for Dean's resolve to break-in (as it had every single other time Cas had asked), "Fine."  


As he started hauling the books over closer to Cas so he could glance through it before placing it into his bag (which, had to be almost full by now with how many books he'd put in there - not to mention it was likely going to be heavy as fuck) Benny spoke up amused, "So, instead of gold, you hoard books?"  


Cas sighed exasperatedly, flipping through a couple of pages of the novel in his hand before gently placing it into his cloth bag, "I don't _hoard_ books..."  


Both Benny and Dean shot him a pointed look, glancing at the three towering piles of books that surrounded Cas' body.  


He rolled his eyes, "Fine. I hoard books. I'm a dragon! That's what we do!"  


Benny laughed while Dean simply grumbled as he picked up book after book, handing them to his lover who happily accepted them, adding them to his already large piles to glance through.  


"So, is that what all dragons hoard? Books?" Benny asked curiously, leaning back against a desk, his full attention on Cas.  


Dean didn't think it was fair that Benny was allowed to take a break, but he was forced to carry piles of books back and forth at Cas' request.  


The dragon shook his head, "Dragons hoard what they feel is most valuable above all else. So, there are certainly a few that hoard gold, but I personally find that impractical. What would I do with a pile of gold?"  


"So, what is it about books that entices you?" Benny asked, glancing down at the book Cas currently had in his hands that he seemed to be stroking.  


"The knowledge," Cas answered immediately, "These pages hold vast amounts of knowledge, things that I would love to learn and study and just know. You can never have too much knowledge or read too many books."  


Dean grunted as in disagreement as a pile of toppling books caught him off guard.  


"So what other things do dragons keep?" Benny followed up, both men ignoring Dean's mumbled complaints.  


"It depends on the dragon," Cas concluded after pausing to think for a moment, "My mother collected rings. My father gathered weapons. One of the dragons in our court had an affinity for sugar and more specifically, sugary foods. It just depends on the individual dragon and what they find most valuable above all else."  


"Fascinating," Benny marveled while Dean dodged a pile of toppling books.  


"Yeah, this is nice and all, but I'd prefer we get a move on," Dean called out, cursing as he stubbed his toe.  


Later, he discovered that Cas had indeed packed every single one of his books. When asked how, he smiled and explained that he had found a spell that enlarged the size of the inside of his bag, as well as made it virtually weightless, allowing him to bring the thousands of books kept away in the vast library.  


Dean simply shook his head in mock exasperation, smiling fondly at his love when he wasn't looking.  


Clever bastard.  


Finally, after a full week of non-stop preparations, Dean deemed them ready to leave the next morning, and was grateful when both Benny and Cas immediately agreed.  


He sighed happily when he crawled in their bed that night, turning to pull Cas' body closer into his own, wrapping his arms tightly to gather him in his embrace.  


Cas' own arms sneaked around his waist, his wings fluttering behind him and they listened to the other's quiet breaths in the stillness of their room.  


"Are you sure about this?" Cas whispered into Dean's skin, looking up at him through his eyelashes, "Is it worth the risk to leave so soon?"  


Dean kissed the top of his head, "You're worth it, and that's all that matters to me."  


Cas sighed as Dean's fingers ran through his wings, nuzzling the underside of his jaw. The smaller man squirmed in his spot until he lifted himself up, straddling Dean's waist and smiling down at his new mate beneath him.  


Carefully, he bent down kissing Dean softly, mewling eagerly when Dean's fingers tightened their hold against his feathers.  


Dean sat up quickly, pulling Cas further into his lap in one swift motion, his hands returning to their place.  


"I want to kiss your wings," Dean breathed out, emboldened by Cas' gasp at his words, "I want to run my tongue through your feathers, sucking at the base and nibbling your skin as you beg for more."  


Cas moaned, tilting his head back, giving Dean access to the warm flesh on the side of his neck, the perfect place to put a mark.  


" _Yes_ , Dean, please," Cas spoke, his already deep voice fuller than normal, "I want you to. I _need_ you to feel me. _All_ of me."  


Dean traced his tongue against the cluster of scales beneath his jaw bone, before kissing the skin and pulling off. He bent his head over, ducking beneath Cas' arm to pull forward a fist full of feathers towards his mouth, tentatively licking.  


The feathers were impossibly soft against his tongue and had a weird texture he wasn't sure he liked. He made a face as he pulled back, feeling as though there were fuzzies still stuck to his tongue.  


Perhaps licking the feathers was not his greatest idea.  


He continued to pet Cas' wings, but bent his head down kissing the side of his ribs, instead. He moved his hands to run up and down the dragon's back, his tongue trailing back up to his collar bone.  


When his fingers brushed against the scales at the base of Cas' wings, Cas let out a loud gasp, his hips stuttering forward into Dean's stomach, trying to find something to grind against. Dean pushed two of his fingers over the oil glands, massaging them gently, while his other hand brushed against the base of his wings.  


Cas threw his head back, moaning as he pushed his back further into Dean's hands, gasping for breath as some oil from his glands leaked out onto Dean's fingers.  


On a mere whim, Dean pulled his oil coated fingers from their spot, ignoring Cas' whines of disappointment at the loss, and brought them to his mouth, catching Cas' eyes before reaching out his tongue to lick.  


He hummed in surprise when he discovered the taste wasn't as bad as he thought it would be; in fact, the oil was almost pleasant. The flavor itself was indescribable, only a few words coming to the forefront of his mind with each taste:  


Warm.  


Wet.  


Sunshine.  


He focused back on Cas', whose attention was flickering in between Dean's fingers and his lips. Guessing what he wanted, he pushed his fingers into his mouth, making obscene noises as he sucked the oil from his fingers.  


He watched Cas' eyes visibly turn black at the sight. In response, Cas pulled the fingers from his mouth (Dean allowing the motion with a loud, wet pop) and hungrily chased Dean's mouth, thrusting his tongue into his, as if he were chasing the taste of the oil still inside his mouth.  


Dean brought his fingers back, grabbing more oil, repeating the process, before deciding he wanted to brush his tongue against the source.  


He lifted Cas off of him, ducking beneath his wings as he crawled behind him, one hand gripped tight around Cas' hips, the others helping to stabilize him with a tight hold in his wings. He nuzzled his head in between the wings, inhaling the scent, still again unable to decide what it smelled like. Instead some new words came to mind:  


Summer rain.  


Fresh dew from a green leaf.  


He inhaled deeply once more before brushing his lips against the glands, feeling a new batch of fresh oil coat the edges of his lips and dribble down his chin.  


Cas called out, his hips pushing forward against the empty air, his hands flying forward to brace himself against the wall.  


Dean pushed out his tongue, lapping up the dripping oil, trying not to miss a single drop, while Cas continued his thrusts, switching in between whimpering in what Dean suspected was Enochian and panting out moans, desperate for release.  


"Dean! _Please_!"  


Dean pressed his tongue against the tiny bumps of his glands harder, moving against the skin relentlessly, only taking a break when he felt Cas' body tremor as he called out, " _Oh_!"  


Dean looked over Cas' shoulder, his jaw dropping when he saw spurts of cum shooting out from Cas' cock, landing in strips against their sheets.  


Dean moaned at the sight, pressing his head against Cas' shoulder and he took a deep breath to calm himself before he came untouched as well.  


After a moments pause to catch their breaths, Cas pulled at Dean, pushing him back down so he could straddle him again. He pressed his lips against his, kissing a little less urgently than he had before, distracting Dean with the way his tongue would wickedly twist against his own, tasting himself on his lips.  


It came as a complete surprise when he felt his something press against the tip of his cock. Before he could even blink, his entire shaft was sheathed in Cas' body.  


Dean whimpered at the tightness, pushing his head into Cas' neck as he took deep breaths, trying to, once again, stop himself from coming.  


They sat still for a moment, both giving their bodies a moment to adjust to the new sensations, before Cas pulled Dean back out of his hiding place in his neck, wrapping his arms around his shoulders, and kissed him softly.  


They exchanged light, intimate kisses in between staring into the other's eyes, as their hips rolled simultaneously into each other's.  


Dean found himself lost in the sensation, captured by nothing but blue when he felt his orgasm lurch forward. He glanced down, seeing Cas' cock standing hard again, so he reached for some more oil before fisting Cas. He only needed a few tugs before the other man was coming a second time.  


They sat in each other's embrace, neither willing to let go of the other, holding on to this moment for as long as they could.  


Cas hesitated before whispering softly, "I'm glad you found me."  


Dean smiled, kissing every inch of Cas' face he could reach before whispering against his lips, "Me too."  


They held each other for a long time before Cas finally pulled away, stating that he needed to grab a rag to clean them up. He frowned at the stain sheets, contemplating on whether or not he wanted to clean it up.  


"I'm not lying in the wet spot," Dean teased unhelpfully.  


Cas rolled his eyes, an odd gesture coming from the winged dragon, before wiping them both clean and throwing the rag across the room.  


He pushed Dean back down against the bed before crawling so he was lying half on top of him, his legs and arms weaving through his own limbs as though he were an octopus.  


He sighed contently and stated, "Now neither of us have to sleep in the wet spot."  


Dean chuckled again, running his fingers through Cas' silky hair before reaching for the blanket that had been pushed to the edge of the bed and covering their lower halves.  


They lay in the quiet, listening to the other breath softly until they were each lulled into a deep sleep.  


\--  


Silence.  


Even worse, it was an awkward, tense silence.  


One you could only achieve when there were certain members of the party that hated the others vehemently, and it was clear no one wanted to be there.  


They stood, staring at one another, no one quite sure what they should say, before one finally decided to speak up.  


"Have you come to kill me?" Bart asked venomously, glaring at the three men who stood before him, before his gaze fell solely on Dean.  


In preparation to them leaving, the three men knew they needed to come up with a solution on what they should do with the man they had unceremoniously thrown in a prison cell after he conducted an unfair duel and attempted to kill the crowned prince. Really, Dean was happy to just forget the man even existed, but they knew they had to do something.  


So, they sat down at dinner one evening and discussed what Dean's options were.  


As it turned out, all three of them had different opinions on what they should do and what they thought seemed "fair".  


Benny thought they should just kill him now and get it over with.  


Cas wasn't fond of the idea, although he agreed that his assassination attempt on the future king should be punishable at the highest degree.  


This is why Cas suggested they drag him back and put him on trial.  


Neither Dean nor Benny liked that idea, both of them remembering how miserable the trip was before when Bart tagged along.  


Dean honestly wanted to leave the man behind, let him rot in his jail cell until he inevitably died. He was disappointed when the other two shook their heads.  


Benny thought it would be too dangerous with no one watching him. What if he got out and sought revenge?  


Cas agreed, although later admitted that he also thought that no person deserved to be stuck behind these prison walls any longer than necessary.  


In the end, they were able to find what Dean thought was a risky, but reasonable solution (assuming it worked the way he wanted it to work) that would be the most use to them, despite the possible repercussions.  


"No," Dean spoke, answering Bart's question.  


He stepped forward, grabbing the key to the lock on his gate and twisting it until they heard a loud click pulling the door wide open.  


"You're free to go," he announced, holding out his arm as though he were inviting the man to leave his cell.  


Bart stared at him suspiciously, glancing in between all three faces, unsure as to whether he was being tricked or not.  


Dean didn't blame him. After all the shit he'd pulled, behind let go without any sort of punishment would seem too good to be true.  


When it was clear no one was planning on making a move to attack him, Bart took a hesitant step outside of his prison cell.  


Before he cold move any further, Dean raised his hand to stop him and said in a bored voice, "Of course, your sins have not all been forgiven by me."  


Bart gritted his teeth, before forcing out, "What is my crime?"  


It took all his effort not to roll his eyes, "You did not follow the correct procedures when requesting and engaging in a duel, namely: you attacked before your opponent was armed or dressed, as well as attempted to assassinate the crowned Prince, soon to be the reigning King, of Winchester. Do you deny these claims?"  


Dean raised an eyebrow, feeling Benny tense to the side in preparation should Bart make the poor decision to lash out.  


Fortunately the guilty man merely gritted out, "I do not. What is my punishment."  


"Ah," Dean answered, smiling brightly, "I'm glad you asked. In result of your crimes regarding your incorrect practices regarding a duel, you have officially been stripped of your title and status. Your lands will be taken from you, and gifted to either your next of kin, or your closest relative."  


He stepped forward, his eyes narrowing before continuing, "In addition, as a result of your assassination attempt, I admit, what I should do is kill you now. But, fortunately, the men standing next to me have spoken in your favor."  


Bart glared at the other man, as though Dean hadn't just announced it was thanks to them he was still standing.  


Dean finished, "Instead, you are officially banished from the lands of Winchester. Once you step foot out of this castle, I want you to leave and never to step foot in my Kingdom again. If I ever see you, hear about you, or even catch wind that you're thinking of returning, I swear I will find you and I assure you I will not hesitate this thrust my sword into your gut and watch as you slowly bleed out."  


Bart pursed his lips, clearly unhappy about his punishment. In many ways, the demotion and banishment would be considered far worse than if Dean had decided to kill him. Certainly, there was a lot more ridicule and humiliation to be felt from it.  


Bart nodded once, to show that he had both heard and understood what his punishment entailed. Dean stepped back, holding out a hand to allow Bart to finally leave the room.  


He glared at Dean before his gaze turned to Cas, narrowing at the sight of the dragon he had essentially lost everything for. He opened his mouth, as though he were debating on saying something, before closely it with a painful sounding _snap_. He turned his attention away and marched out of the room, leaving the other men behind.  


Dean looked over at the other two before quickly following behind Bart, watching him closely as he thrust open the front doors, storming through them and out onto the front lawn, not bothering to close the doors behind him.  


The three men watched solemnly as they stood in a line in the doorway, Cas standing in the middle with his fingers intertwined with Dean's and his hand resting against Benny's forearm.  


They watched Bart stomp like a child throwing a temper tantrum along the castle grounds as he shouted out obscenities into the air.  


"I still don't know if this is a good idea," Cas spoke quietly, watching the scene play out before him.  


"It was better than any other idea we had," Benny reminded him, wincing as they watch Bart attempt to kick the air and fall down onto his back side, "Besides, we don't know for sure how this is going to play out."  


"It's the only option we have at the moment," Dean reminded him, kissing against his temple as Bart scrambled up from the ground, moving towards the fence.  


They watched in silence, each holding their breaths as the saw Bart reach the black gate, bending forward to open it.  


Cas gasped, his grip tightening against Dean's, as a black blob of goo began to seep out from the ground, bubbling and splattering the lawn.  


They watched in amazement as the goo twisted and turned, rising high off the ground until it formed a shape that roughly resembled a human's body. From there, a tall person emerged from the black goo as it disappeared, as though becoming one with this humanoid's being.  


Bart watched this scene, his eyes mixed in between annoyance and fright and asked, "Who are you? I demand you tell me at once!"  


The creature stared back for a moment before its eyes turned back inside its head and it let out a chilling laugh.  


Bart's eyes widened with fright and he stumbled as he tried to step back, blindly reaching for the gate behind him.  


The creature stepped forward, caging Bart against the black bars, preventing him from actually being able to leave, and examined him a little more closely.  


"Yes," it hissed, "You'll do for a nice snack."  


Bart whimpered as the creature tipped its head back, its mouth splitting wide open to reveal a long black snakey tongue and several rows of sharp teeth.  


Bart barely had a moment to let out a small squeak before the creature bent down, licking the side of his cheek briefly before swallowing Bart's body whole.  


The creature smacked its lips crudely, turning slowly back to the three who were watching the scene in horror. It let out a slow and wicked smile, as if to warn them that they were next should they choose to step outside those castle walls, before disintegrating back into the pile of goo and absorbing back into the ground.  


Benny and Dean slowly turned to Cas, whose eyes were stuck on the empty spot Bart had stood just moments before.  


They waited, no one knowing quite what to say when Cas spoke, "That was a Leviathan."  


Dean caught Benny's eyes as he mouthed, " _Holy shit_."  


He swallowed nervously, realizing just how in over their heads they really were before taking a deep breath.  


He momentarily wondered if he was a terrible person for being grateful that their plan worked. With Bart being sent out as bait (Cas had assured them that very few people made it out alive without his help), they were able to see what a Leviathan looked like in person.  


It hadn't been a perfect plan, and now in hindsight, it seemed rather cruel of them to do, but on the bright side, at least now both Benny and Dean caught a glimpse of what a Leviathan actually was.  


Dean understood now why Cas had such a hard time explaining them.  


He turned to the side and grasped Benny on the shoulder, squeezing it tightly as Benny nodded back, silently agreeing to follow him wherever he goes.  


Dean nodded, signaling that his message was received and bent down, using his hand to pull Cas' face up to look at him.  


He captured his lips against his lover's pushing all of his nerves, concerns, and anxiety until he was left with nothing but the calm assurance and reminder for why he was doing this.  


This was for Cas.  


He let up from the kiss, leaving one final gentle press of a reminder to both himself and the long forgotten lost prince standing in front of him before standing up straight.  


He glanced behind him one last time, knowing that he would not miss these castle walls what-so-ever.  


He unsheathed his sword, and took a step out of the castle doors onto the green grass.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Thank you again for all your comments and kudos and read throughs! You are all wonderful and I'm grateful for you all each and every day! :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a note: for the next month, my updates may be a little more slow going than what I originally wanted them to be. May is going to be a busy, busy month! 
> 
> However, please be assured that this story WILL be updated and it WILL be finished!
> 
> Also, **WARNING** : There is fighting and violence in this chapter as well as Dick being a total creep and super possessive. There is mention of non-con/rape, but * _spoiler alert_ * no rape or non-con actaully happens. The mention is brief, but I thought I should warn you anyway, just in case.
> 
> Now: please enjoy the next installment. :)

Just as it had been when they were watching Bart step out into the open air, Dean stepping onto the magically manicured lawn was anti-climatic.  


There were no armies swarming in on him.  


No Leviathan's rising from the ground opening their head to try and swallow him whole.  


No taunting.  


No whispers.  


No movement.  


There was nothing.  


The air was still and quiet, filling his body with a quiet buzz that wormed its way deep beneath his skin.  


Dean wanted to scratch at the surface and try to dig feeling out, but refrained himself from doing so.  


His body tensed as he strained to listen for any sign of some sort of life around him, desperate for the stillness to go away. Chills ran down his spine and he felt as though there were a pair of eyes watching him from just beyond.  


He glanced casually in the direction he thought the eyes would be, only to meet the empty air in front of him.  


The deafening stillness that surrounding his body was so much worse than if there would have been a heavy and immediate attack on him.  


Dean had literally just seen a Leviathan a mere few moments before.  


Where were they now?  


Why were they hiding in the shadows?  


Cautiously, Dean took another step forward, out into the open space, pausing to look for any signs of movement around him.  


When there were none, he took another step, and then another, before finally stopping out in the open air, his sword lifted in front of him defensively, waiting for the onslaught he knew had to be coming at any moment.  


He held his breath, not wanting to miss any signs of their existence, and waited...  


And waited...  


And waited...  


When no movements were made, he hesitantly glanced back behind him, finding both Benny and Cas still standing with in the castle walls. Dean nodded his head at Benny, who nodded in return, before stepping out himself.  


Just as it was with Dean, when Benny stepped onto the green grass, there were no indications of movements, no armies swarming to attack.  


The air was still, not even a breeze to give relief from the warmth of the sun.  


No birds were singing in the trees.  


No bees buzzing around the flowers.  


Just silence.  


The silence itself was eerie, as though it knew there was a monster hiding in the dark just out of reach, and not even nature wanted to provoke the beast.  


It held a promise that there was a predator hiding in the darkness, waiting to make its move.  


It left Dean feeling defenseless and restless, waiting for the next move.  


His eyes shifted to some movement next to him, seeing that Benny had made it out as far as he had.  


Benny raised an eyebrow at his Prince, conveying his confusion to the quiet around them.  


Dean frowned, sharing the same sentiment as his friend.  


The Leviathans knew they were there.  


So, what were they waiting for?  


Dean sighed, and turned back around to face Castiel, confident that Benny would watch his back and make sure he wasn't blindsided from behind.  


Cas was still standing within the walls of the entryway of the castle, his face completely devoid of all emotion as he watched the scene play out before him.  


Or really, lack of scene since absolutely nothing had actually happened yet.  


Cas stared straight at Dean, waiting for instruction.  


In response, Dean held out his hand, reaching out towards Cas, to invite him to step out onto the lawn and join them.  


Cas looked out the outstretched palm for a moment, before catching Dean's eye and nodding determinedly, as though he were confirming to himself once more that he had made the decision to fight back.  


He just hoped it would be worth it.  


It was the moment Cas' foot touched the tip of a bright green blade of grass that chaos immediately erupted.  


Dozens upon dozens of black goo creatures rose from the pores of the ground, taking their shapes to resemble a human body. Dean glanced back behind him before turning back to Cas, his heart dropping.  


They were completely surrounded.  


He stared over at Cas, horrified to find that several creatures had risen up in the space between the two, blocking Dean from being able to reach his lover properly.  


Upon seeing this, all plans for escape immediately fled his mind, and one litany consumed his mind.  


_Save Cas._  


Dean lifted up his sword, hands firmly gripped holding the hilt in place, ready to swing at the first creature that dared to step in his way to make it to Cas' side.  


_Save Cas._  


He leapt forward, swinging at the first creature in front of him blocking his pathway back to Castiel, not bothering to wait for the Leviathans to make the first move. The sword slashed through the creature's arm, thick black goo seeping from the gash before it glued itself back together.  


_Save Cas._  


Dean swung at the next one, his eyes flickering back and forth from the monsters to Cas, making sure that Cas wasn't injured.  


He was relieved, impressed, and honestly more than a little turned on, when Cas pulled out his own short blade and began slashing the creatures in front of him, working his way towards his companions.  


Dean dodged an attack made from his right and swiped his sword forward, his breath in-taking sharply when the Leviathan's head came clean off. He watched, his mouth slightly agape, as the Leviathan's body slump down onto the ground, seemingly motionless.  


"The heads!" Dean shouted out, taking another swing before calling back out to both Cas and Benny, "Take off their heads!"  


Benny nodded, indicating he heard before jumping off to the side and rolling out of the way. He thrusted up his own sword, slashing a Leviathan's chest before immediately countering with a second slash to its neck, relieved when its head rolled off and away several feet.  


Dean looked back to Cas, who was being approached by two monsters. His heart pounded as he watched Cas plunge his own blade forward, shoving it into the closest Leviathan's neck, before forcing it to the side, effectively sawing the Leviathan's head off with the motion.  


He turned back, repeating the action to the second Leviathan, leaving him surrounded by two headless bodies.  


Mesmerized, it took a motion on Dean's right to pull him out of his own thoughts and back into the fight. He was just in time to jump back and swing, avoiding a Leviathan's rows of sharp teeth from chomping his own head off in retaliation.  


They continued their fight back, the numbers of creatures visibly weakening.  


Dean's heart soared as he took out another one, seeing there were only a few creatures left blocking his way from reaching his lover.  


They were doing it.  


They were actually doing it!  


He heard a strangled yell from behind him and turned back reflexively, searching for the source of the noise of distress.  


He found Benny, frozen to the spot, his eyes staring wide at the headless body lying a few feet from him. The body was shifting slightly, as thought it were crawling towards the severed head. The head itself was doing the same thing. The two pieces reached each other, goo stitching them back together seamlessly, and the creature, now with its head reattached, stood from its fallen place on the ground.  


He turned around, frantically searching through all the fallen bodies, horrified to see that everyone of them were slowly reviving themselves.  


Chopping their heads off _didn't_ seem to kill them, after all.  


They weren't winning.  


Dean was beginning to doubt they actually could.  


He looked back up, finding both Benny and Cas repeatedly glancing back at him in between their fights, waiting to see what they should do.  


How do you defeat a hoard of creatures that can't seem to die?  


There were too many of them, they'd never be able to over power them. Their best chance was to get out of there.  


It appeared that although cutting off their heads didn't seem to kill them, it definitely slowed them down. If they could keep up what they were doing, and slowly make their way towards the black gate at the edge of the castle grounds, perhaps they could get past the walls of the castle. Once they were past the fog, where Dean suspected the influence of the magic ended, then they'd be free to go.  


Right?  


Knowing it was their best shot, despite the fact that there were several glaring flaws in his plan, Dean caught Benny's eye, making a slashing motion at his neck and nodding off towards the gate. Benny nodded, slicing another Leviathan's head off and making his way in that direction, pausing every few steps to keep fighting.  


Relieved he understood the message, Dean turned back, thrilled to find there were only three monsters left that separated him from his mate.  


Taking down the monsters efficiently, he grabbed Cas' arm, pulling him closer and kissing the side of his face.  


"Are you okay?" he asked as quietly as he could, while still slashing forward to hold off any creature that tried to come closer.  


"Yes," Cas replied simply, before jumping straight to the chase, "What is your plan?"  


"Keep going for the heads," he said, proving his point again with another swipe, watching satisfied as another head flopped onto the ground, rolling away a couple of feet, "It'll buy us some time."  


Cas opened his mouth, most likely to ask what it would buy them time to do, before promptly shutting it, his eyes flickering back and forth from Dean to the gate.  


Dean nodded, confirming Cas' suspicious.  


Cas frowned in response, his skepticism apparent in his eyes, before sighing and thrusting his blade forward again. Dean took that as a sign that he was in, smiling goofily before continuing in his fight as well.  


The Leviathans were silent, focusing their attention on moving quickly and striking efficiently. They worked well together, moving as though they were one.  


A Leviathan lunged forward, knocking into Dean's shoulder, pushing him down onto the ground. He winced, knowing he'd have a bruise that trailed down his entire side from the fall, before he realized his sword had been knocked from his hand.  


He heard Benny shout, "Dean! Look out!" and glanced back just in time to see another Leviathan crouching over him.  


Dean rolled off to the side, in the nick of time, the Leviathan's claws grasping at the empty air where he laid mere seconds before. He reached out, grasping the tip of his sword, immediately flinging his body around and swinging to cut of the head of a Leviathan that was hovering a foot above him.  


The black goo burst onto his skin, while the body fell onto his legs and the head landed off to the side.  


He coughed and spluttered, wiping the substance off his face the best he could before shoving the fallen body off of him and pushed himself off the ground.  


He turned to look at Cas, eyes widening when he found a Leviathan standing behind Cas. The creature tilted its head back, it's rows of teeth showing in its wide mouth as it's black snakey tongue curled out.  


Cas was too far, there was no way he'd be able to get to him in time to save him, and Cas himself was distracted by another creature standing directly in front of him.  


Cas' blade lurched into the monster's neck in front of him, rendering him useless, while the monster behind him bent forward. Dean opened his mouth to shout out a warning, but watched in shocked as the creature's head was detached from its body and its body slumped down.  


Benny stood behind, his own sword held up, face smeared with dirt and black goo staining the front of his shirt.  


Dean tried to take a deep breath, his heart pounding at almost having to watch Cas die in front of him.  


When they got home, Benny was definitely getting a raise.  


Dean stepped forward, wanting to make his way towards the other two.  


Perhaps if the three stood together, they would be able to work their way towards the gate.  


There was strength in numbers, right?  


The Leviathans themselves seemed to prove this idea through their flawless motions.  


Before he could take another step forward, two Leviathans rose up from the ground, each grabbing one of his arms, and pulling them behind his back.  


Dean yelped, pulling on his arm and flicking his wrist, swinging his sword, surprisingly damaging one Leviathan. Before he could even blink, another one immediately stepped forward to take the fallen Leviathan's place.  


A third surprised him from behind, wrapping its arm around Dean's torso to hold him in place, knocking his sword out of his hand and just barely out of reach.  


Dean writhed and moved his body, trying to pull out of the creatures grasp, only to have one of the first step forward to kick his shins. The creature kicked both of his kneecaps, and Dean sank down onto the ground, the pain too unbearable to keep standing.  


Fingers wormed into his hair and tugged on the strands pulling his head back and up so he could see what was happening before him.  


Benny was down in a similar position to him, Cas still fighting back, shouting out Dean's name.  


A Leviathan punched Cas in the face, a trickle of blood falling from his split lip, before forcing him onto his knees as well.  


They were weaponless and defenseless.  


Refusing to give up, Dean looked around trying to find a weakness, desperate to find any break in these monster's defense.  


There had to be one!  


_Everything_ had a weakness.  


He just needed to figure out what theirs was, and fast.  


The Leviathans were completely surrounding them, forming a tight circle with Dean on one side and Cas and Benny on the other, kneeling directly across from him.  


His gaze was drawn to the emptiness in the middle of the circle when he saw some moving in the dirt below.  


Black goo seeped from the pores of the dirt to rise up and form yet another man.  


Dean studied him closely, as the good looking, well-manicured man brushed off imaginary dirt from his pristine suit and smiled at the Leviathans present. His teeth were straight and white, his dark hair styled so not a single strand of hair was out of place.  


He was handsome, sure, and watching him as he confidently strutted towards Castiel, Dean had a sick feeling he knew who this man was.  


"Castiel!" the man called out, stepping forward until he was standing directly in front the man he was speaking to and reached out to stroke his fingers down the dragon's cheek, "My sweet Castiel. What are we going to do with you?"  


"Dick," Cas acknowledged through gritted teeth, sitting completely still as the other man stroked him as though he were some sort of pet.  


"I thought we had gotten past this," Dick answered with a mock frown, lifting Cas' chin up and brushing his thumb across the bleeding lip, before stepping back to hold his arms out at the creatures standing around him, "I thought we had reached a point where you understood your place."  


Dick stepped closer to Cas than he even was before, tipping his head up to look at him and spoke dangerous, "I guess I'll have to remind you where your place is once again. Would you like that pet? Perhaps you need to be reminded more often so you are no longer throwing these little temper tantrums of yours."  


Cas scrunched up his face, clearly uncomfortable as Dick leaned forward, but did not speak up.  


His litany from before shouted in his mind, forcing Dean to open his mouth.  


_Save Cas._  


Heart pounding, Dean shouted out, "Hey big mouth! Get your friggin' hands off of him!"  


Dick paused, a wide smile creeping onto his face, "Ah, yes, how could I forget the hero of the hour!"  


"Dean," Cas growled out warningly, shaking his head.  


"Quiet now, dear, I believe your fallen hero wants to speak to me now," Dick answered, waving his hand dismissively in Cas' direction.  


Dean was dismayed when Cas listened to him, closing his mouth and staying quiet.  


Why wasn't he fighting back?  


Determined, Dean spoke up again, "Yeah that's right, I got a couple of things I wanna say."  


Dick held out a hand, an amused smile on his face, as though Dean were the tiny pest and he was simply humoring him.  


"Go on," Dick answered back.  


_Save Cas._  


Taking a deep breath, Dean started, "I know you think you're the greatest thing to roam the earth: God's gift to humanity. And sure, you're powerful. You have all this magic and it's nearly impossible to kill you, but that doesn't matter. None of it does. Because even with all that, you'll never have Cas. He's not yours, Dickwad, and you'll never have him."  


Dick laughed, prompting the rest of the Leviathans to laugh with him.  


It was chilling to listen to the empty, hollow sounds, filling his core.  


Dean glanced over at Cas who was watching him closely, his eyes full of sadness.  


It almost looked like he'd already given up, the way his shoulders were slumped foward and his head shook warningly, telling Dean silently to stand down.  


Dick broke their silent communication when he chuckled darkly, "Oh, you poor naïve human. Castiel is already mine."  


"No, he's really not," Dean countered, taking his eyes off of Castiel and onto the monster who stood before him.  


He made a promise to Cas, and he intended to keep that promise.  


His lover may seem to have lost his hope, but Dean clung desperately onto his own, repeating his goal in his mind over and over.  


_Save Cas._  


Glaring at Dick, Dean continued, taking a shot in the dark, "He's not yours! Not even a little bit. That's why you're still here and not out in the world causing havoc. You're stuck behind these walls just as much as he is. Until he gives into you, you're trapped."  


Dick shrugged, seemingly unconcerned, "No matter, Castiel will be mine in the end."  


Dean laughed, unable to hold it in any more. Adrenaline coursed through his body, leaving him feeling reckless and brave.  


He was amazed that his theory was correct in the first place, amazed that they had even gotten this far.  


That small measure of self-preservation burst in his cheast as he realized that the chances of him getting out of this mess were slim to none.  


But if he could save Cas...  


_Save Cas._  


Perhaps it would all have been worth it.  


"Hate to break it to ya, buddy," Dean spat out with a cocky smirk, portraying a lot more confidence than what he actually felt, "but you already missed your chance at that one."  


Dick narrowed his eyes, taking a moment to try and decide what Dean meant by that before concluding, "No. I don't think I have. And I'm tired of listening to you speak now."  


He turned around, waving his hand to signal he wanted Dean dealt with. Hands tightened around Dean's body, so he quickly shouted out, "He'll never be yours! He'll never agree. No matter how long you’re here, he will always say no. Because Cas is strong and brave and good. He would never allow you to have that kind of unlimited power."  


Dean took a deep breath, satisfied when the hands on his bodies stilled and continued, "And I will never allow it, either. I am going to do everything within my power to prevent you from taking my mate and I'm getting him as far away from you as I possibly can!"  


Dick swung around, his eyes watching Dean dangerously.  


"What did you call him?" He asked in a deceptively calm voice.  


"My mate," Dean declared again, turning his eyes away to glance at Cas who was watching him, his mouth slightly ajar. 

Cas looked as though he were holding his breath, taking in every word that Dean spoke to his heart and keeping it there. His shoulders relaxed slightly when he caught his eye.  


"He's my mate," Dean answered again, smiling at Cas, "and I love him."  


Cas' eyes lit up at the declaration, as though he had forgotten how Dean felt about it or was worried it had changed.  


Dean could almost see that small light of hope flicker in Cas' eyes, sparking something that had almost completely burned out.  


Dean continued, as he looked back at Dick who was scowling down at Dean, "As long as I'm alive, you can never harm him."  


Dick growled turning back around to march back up to Castiel. He grabbed Cas' jaw pulling him forward out of the other creature's hands and shoving his nose into Cas' neck, sniffing the skin there.  


Upon finishing, he yelled again, pushing Cas onto the ground and shouted out, "You whore! You went and mated him, did you? If I would have known that's what you wanted, I would have taken it from you years ago!"  


He kicked Castiel while he was down, standing up straight before glaring venomously at the ground.  


"No matter, I can fix this. You want a mate? Fine, I'm done waiting for you to come around my way. I'll give you a mate."  


Dean shouted as Dick knelt onto the ground, "Too late! I already mated him! The bond's there, jackass. It can't be undone."  


Quiet filled the space around them as Dick knelt on the ground, absent-mindedly petting Castiel's hair. Dean was relieved to see Cas was still breathing, just not moving from his spot. After several long excruciating moments, Dick nodded to himself.  


"I suppose you're right," he spoke quietly, his dark eyes turning back to stare at Dean.  


Dean held his breath, not wanting to miss a single moment as Dick stood up from his spot on the ground, striding over to Dean, "I guess I'll just have to break the bond, first."  


He reached out, his fingers tightening around Dean's neck and squeezing tightly, forcing any air in his throat out.  


"Do you suppose killing you will be enough?" Dick asked casually, as though he weren't squeezing the life out of someone, "Or shall I break you first. After all, we both know that this will end in your death. As you said, I can not take him as long as you are alive."  


Dean started to see black spots, flickering everywhere in his sight and he struggled against the hold the Leviathans had on him, trying to fight back.  


Dick leaned forward, speaking softly in his ear, "No, I don't think I'll kill you quite yet. I think I'll drag this out. I break every bone in your body, squeeze you until you're bleeding from every pore. Meanwhile, our sweet Castiel will be watching, helpless to do anything. And once he agrees to take me as his, I'll have him break your bond and take him right here, out on the grass for everyone to see. You'll be chained up, of course, but I'll make sure your eyes stay open so you can watch me as I take your lover. And then, and only then, will I show my mercy and kill you."  


Dean gaped, images of Dick raping his beloved mate haunting his mind.  


_Save Cas._  


He tried pulling his arms back again, feeling them weak from lack of oxygen.  


He couldn't let this happen!  


He tried to speak, to call out, do anything!  


He had to fight back.  


_Save Cas._  


His entire vision was nearly covered in black spots.  


He blinked rapidly, trying to gain his sight back.  


He had to...  


_Save Cas._  


He felt his body slump forward.  


He...  


_Save..._  


A loud roar cause Dick to jump, his hand sliding off of Dean's neck, giving him the chance to gasp out for breath. Dean coughed and choked on air as he gulped greedily, filling his lungs the best he could.  


Slowly, his vision began to clear as his chest heaved, despite still feeling a phantom touch around his neck.  


Dean looked up and out, trying to find the source of the noise, the cause of the thing that saved him.  


Cas was crouched on his hands and feet in a defensive position, his teeth bared at Dick, and wings spread out above him. He growled again, shifting in his spot and he kept his eyes on the enemy.  


"Oh, hush Castiel. Calm down. This is for the best and you know it," Dick scolded the dragon, turning away again to face Dean.  


Castiel roared again, a deep throaty sound that Dean could have never guessed would have come from him, before standing up tall on his feet.  


Dean's jaw dropped as he watched Cas' blue eyes glow brightly and his body start to change and shift before his eyes.  


The scales from his face and arms chased down his body, covering every piece of warm skin that was showing. The scales extended back to his feathery wings, covering them in a thick, smooth webbing. His shoulders hunched back and his body began to shift. He grew taller and wider, his arms and legs changing into a different form, and his face shifting forward to create a long snout.  


The transformation happened in just about a minute, but when it was finished, Dean wasn't the only one who seemed to be speechless.  


Cas was a dragon.  


An actual _fucking_ dragon.  


It wasn't that Dean hadn't believe Castiel before when he had told him what he was, it was just he hadn't been able to imagine this small, harmless man as the deadly creature he saw before him. Cas, with his soft wings and warm lips wasn't anything like the cold hard scaled reptiles his fairytale stories spoke about.  


Looking at him now, Castiel looked just as menacing and strong as every dragon Dean had ever seen or heard about. His scales were the same black they were when he was in his resting form, with the colored sheen (mostly blue) in the right sunlight. His feathers were gone, and instead was the thick web that covered the space behind him.  


He had to be at least 16 feet tall with a wing span of perhaps double that.  


It was _amazing_.  


Absolutely _breath-taking_.  


Castiel's blue glowing eyes looked over at Dean, catching his gaze in his briefly. Dean was comforted to see some concern in those eyes, eyes that despite their brightness and increase in size were the exact same as what he was used to.  


Satisfied that Dean was alive and relatively well considering the circumstances, he turned his long snout back to Dick and glared down at him.  


Dick opened his mouth sighing nervously, "Castiel..."  


Cas growled again, cutting him off before he could continue whatever line of thought he was intended to say.  


Chills ran down Dean's spine as Cas opened his own mouth, showing his own rows of thick pointed teeth, and spoke in an ever deeper, gravely, booming voice than what he normally spoke with.  


"You're done speaking," he announced to Dick.  


Cas leaned down until his nose was hovering over the ground, his warm breathing over Dick's skin, his eyes level with his face.  


"It's my turn now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, thank you for all your kind words and support! Truly, every time you leave a kudo or a comment you make me smile and motivate me to write more.
> 
> I'm grateful for everyone of you!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh...hi there. Long time no see.
> 
> *throws chapter at you in hopes to make you happy*

Although he knew this wasn't the right time to ogle Cas, he couldn't seem to help himself.  


_Damn_ , he was hot.  


And a dragon.  


A mother fucking smoking hot bad ass dragon...  


But, a dragon, nonetheless.  


And one that Dean was get a raging hard-on just staring at.  


He wasn't trying to dwell on that too much.  


If he did, he'd have to analyze why he still found the dragon incredibly sexy in his full form, and he wasn't sure he wanted to jump down that rabbit hole quite yet.  


After all, Dean had never even considered talking to a dragon before, let alone being attracted to one. There was the initial issue of dragons being vicious monsters (or so he'd been told). Combined with the fact they were an entirely different species, it wasn't ever a thought that had crossed his mind.  


After all, mating with a creature that's described as vicious with sharp teeth isn't really a scenario Dean ever wanted to put his dick through.  


When Cas was in his "resting" form, it was easy to forget he was a different creature, even with the wings and scales down his face.  


He just appeared and acted so... _human_.  


Now, however, there was no denying that Castiel was anything but a dragon.  


Dean's eyes shifted down Cas' newly formed figure, studying the scales more closely. The black shimmered that deep blue in the sunlight.  


His dick twitched at the majestic sight in front of him.  


Oh yeah, any reservations he'd had before were long gone.  


Suddenly, the whole "bestiality" thing made sense.  


Cas' voice broke through Dean's thoughts and he mentally berated his cock for doing his thinking for him (this was not the time or place) and proceeded to focus on listening to what his mate had to say.  


"Dick," the dragon growled, as though the word itself were full of the same sludge the creatures were made of, "I refuse to put up with you any longer. You time has come to an end. Surrender now, or face my wrath."  


Chills ran down Dean's spine.  


He was glad he wasn't on the receiving end of the dragon's wrath.  


Dick sighed in mock disappointment, "Oh, my sweet Castiel. What has this wretched human done to you?"  


Cas snap his jaws, "He has done nothing but show me the kindness and compassion I longed to feel from you. No matter, he is the human my family had in mind when we drew up the peace treaty those many years ago. He is the best humanity could possibly offer."  


The Leviathan scowled, "Are you listening to yourself? The words you're speaking is absolutely absurd. No one could possibly think this weak, worthless human could be greater than I!"  


He stepped forward, leaning into Castiel's space and spoke, "This will be the last time I will prove myself to you, _dragon_. And when I do, I will take you for my own, the way I should have done several years ago."  


He stepped back, waving his hand in the dragon's general vicinity and ordered, "Pin him down."  


Hoards of Leviathans raced forward, jumping from every which direction and lunging themselves onto Castiel's back.  


Dean fought against his captors, wanting nothing more than to race forward to help his lover from the onslaught of relentless attacks.  


He glanced at Benny who appeared to be doing the same thing, with no luck or chance of success.  


Cas tilted his head back and roared, before unfurling his wings and flinging several dozen of Leviathans back. More took the place of the fallen creatures, so Cas began batting his wings, his body slowly rising up from the ground.  


Leviathans shot up, leaping straight through the air and hitting the sides of the thick dragon's scales, and pulling him back towards the ground.  


Dick had left the scene behind him and was making his way back to Dean, presumably to finish the job that he had started before Castiel had interrupted him.  


Dean's breaths grew shallow as he watched the man step up to him determinedly, not having any idea how the hell he was going to get out of this alive.  


For him to have escaped death the first time was miraculous.  


But to do it a second time?  


There was no way he was that lucky.  


His own mind warred against itself, trying to convince him to take one of two completely opposite actions.  


The fighter in him wanted to pull against his restraints. He wanted to kick and scream and expound all the energy he had to fight back as hard as he could do.  


If he was going to die, he wanted to die knowing he fought to the death.  


On the other hand, the survivor in him wondered if it would be best to simply go limp.  


If Dick took the same route as he had last time, he merely choke Dean until he passed out from lack of oxygen. It sounded as though he wanted to drag Dean's death out, meaning he most likely wouldn't be killed right away.  


His chances of getting away at this moment were looking slim.  


But, perhaps if he saved his energy for later, he could find another opportunity, a better one, and seize the chance to escape then.  


His mind jumped back and forth in between his options as he tried to pick which route he wanted to take as Dick rapidly approached his spot.  


His eyes were off of Cas, focused on the big bad Leviathan just a few steps away.  


"Your time is over," Dick announced to Dean before lifting up his hand.  


Oh shit.  


Feigned surrender it is.  


He allowed body to go completely limp in the Leviathan's arms, catching them off guard as their attention was towards the roaring and snapping dragon.  


Their grasps loosened as he tumbled to the ground and Dean immediately rolled away before jumping back to his feet and standing in a fighting stance facing Dick who seemed to look more annoyed than impressed.  


Dean didn't know why.  


That shit was impressive.  


Dean's mind whirled with the fact that he had fucking freed himself from his captors by going limp, allowing the fighter side of his mind to take over, waiting for Dick and the other monsters to attack him first.  


The other Leviathans made a move to step forward, likely in attempts to re-capture Dean into their grasps, but an even louder roar came from Castiel, along with several high pitched shrill shrieks.  


Every single person on the lawn turned to look at Castiel, their jaws dropping as they realized Cas had flung back every single one of the hundreds of creatures that had swarmed him.  


Cas extended his wings, hovering up into the air before shooting straight down, aimed right at Dick.  


Dick jumped to the side, barely avoiding Cas' attack. Before he could get back up, though, Cas had already turn around in the air and dove down a second time.  


He pinned Dick to the ground, roaring straight in his face.  


Dick blinked in surprise, not having really thought that Cas would ever fight back, and allowed his body to change into the black goo and seep back into the ground.  


Cas snapped at the goo, trying to capture what he could of the Leviathan, but the creature was already reassembling his body several feet away.  


Cas pounced onto the black goo monster, snapping his jaws together, only to have Dick disappear back into the ground and reappear somewhere else.  


Dean watched Dick played this sinister game with Cas and knew that his mate needed help. His current strategy wasn't working. Cas was simply going to wear himself out, playing this cat and mouse game. Once he grew tired, Dick would make his move and Cas would be trapped forever.  


They only had one shot at this, and Dean wasn't about to let the moment slide by.  


Intent on helping, Dean glanced around, taking his eyes off "the big boss" and noticed most of the Leviathans had backed off. It seemed apparent that they all knew this fight was in between the head honcho and his sought out prize.  


Taking advantage of their distraction, Dean ran around the circle the fight had created, heading straight for Benny. Benny was still being held down by a large group of Leviathans, but their focus and attention was definitely diverted.  


Planning on taking the element of surprise, Dean barged straight into the hoard, his sword swinging to chop anything in sight. It wasn't long before Benny was able to tear out of the hold the monsters had on him and join the assault. Within mere minutes of the initial attack, the two men had chopped off the heads of every Leviathan in the small group that had surrounded them.  


"Now what?" Benny panted, eyeing Dick and Cas who were still in the midst of their cat and mouse chase.  


"Now, I go in to help Cas," Dean announced boldly, his words sounding much more confident than what he actually felt.  


"And how are you supposed to do that?" Benny asked incredulously.  


Dean sighed, turning back to his long time friend and companion, "Dick's too fast for Cas. He'll never be able to catch him. But, if I can stop Dick from moving, then Cas can corner him, and hopefully kill him for good."  


Benny nodded, his eyes set to determination, "What do you need me to do?"  


Dean waved at the beheaded creatures, already starting to piece back together into one form, "I need you to hold them off. Once they see I'm interfering, they'll try to stop me."  


"I can do that," Benny answered back, clapping his hand on Dean's back.  


"Thank you," Dean answered sincerely, allowing himself a moment to look at the scruff, burly features of his best friend.  


They were going to get through this.  


They had to.  


Dean forced himself to turn away, breathing in deeply one last time before charging into the center of the makeshift arena.  


Dick and Cas were so absorbed in fighting one another, that neither or them saw him coming.  


Using the element of surprise, Dean tackled Dick to the ground, holding him still before he could disintegrate into the black goo to seep down into the pores of the ground.  


Dick looked up at Dean, a look of surprise fliting on his face before it was rapidly replaced with annoyance and exasperation.  


"This is not your fight, _child_ ," Dick spoke condescendingly, before waving his hand and commanding a tower of black goo to knock Dean off of him and onto the ground.  


"You'll stay there until I have time to deal with you," Dick scolded, before turning back around to deal with the dragon.  


As Dick turned, Cas' large snout and faces was waiting two inches from where he stood.  


"Your time is over," Cas' deep growl spoke, reverberating through the ground and deep into Dean's chest.  


Dean's eyes widened as Cas' jaw opened wide before he snapped it down onto Dick's body, cutting him in half.  


Cas tilted his head up into the air, breathing out a stream of fire to burn whatever remains of Dick had made it into his mouth before swallowing the rest down.  


Dean's attentions turns back towards the remainder of Dick's body, slumped onto the ground, black goo oozing onto the ground.  


The fighting had stopped and the world seemed silent as everyone watched the remains, curious to know if this was truly the end.  


A bubble burst from the ooze before it contracted rapidly into about a size of a quarter.  


There was another moment's pause before the black goo exploded out and onto everyone who was in the immediate area.  


Dean closed his eyes, groaning as he felt the thick, warm substance sludge down the front of his body. He lifted his hand and wiped a thick layer off from his face before deciding to open his eyes and confirm that the worst was over.  


As soon as he did, Dean closed his eyes again, only to re-open them, wanting confirmation that he was actually seeing what was happening before him and not merely hallucinating.  


The remaining Leviathans had appeared to turn against themselves and against each other.  


There were hoards of Leviathans attacking others on the ground, eating what seemed to be their remains. Once that was done, they'd turn to the next body and continue down the line.  


After they appeared to have their fill, the Leviathans started on their own body, taking bites until they ate all they could.  


Dean watched in horror, his eyes wide and mouth dropped low as he tried to comprehend the scene in front of him. Unable to take his eyes off the horrifying display before him, he was grateful when Benny stepped in front of his line of view, grabbing his arm and pulling him off the ground.  


He shook his head, his body shivering at the animalistic savage behavior the Leviathans were portraying and turned his body so he was facing Benny.  


"What the hell?" he blurted out, waving his arm in the general direction the Leviathans were inhabiting.  


"I don't know, brother," Benny answered quickly, his eyes shifting back and forth from the Leviathans, to something off in the distance, and back to Dean, "But they don't seem to be concerned about us, so I recon we count our blessings and get the hell out of here while we have a chance."  


Dean nodded, his gaze sliding back to a Leviathan who had just finished eating one of its brothers and had begun to turn on itself, tearing a piece off of their arm to start off.  


"Dean," Benny started, drawing his attention back, "I think there's something wrong with Cas."  


The Leviathans completely flew from Dean's mind as his heart dropped at those words.  


_Shit._  


Cas!  


Was he okay?  


Where was he?  


Dean turned around, searching the fields for Cas and saw him, still in his dragon form, off in the distance. He was hunched on the ground, breathing rapidly with little spurts of fire sparking out here and there. His body was completely still for a moment before shivers seemed to overtake him, as though he were cold or in pain.  


Dean immediately ran to Cas, ignoring the feeling of the black goo ebbing down his legs and into his shoes, the sludge squelching between his toes.  


He slowed down his gait as he approached, unsure how he was supposed to approach the dragon. He held his arms out in a placating motion and gently walked forward towards the magnificent creature.  


"Cas?" Dean called out hesitantly, waiting for some confirmation he was there mentally.  


Cas' eyes turned towards Dean. It was obvious he was in pain, but there was still a look of coherency in them, much to Dean's relief.  


"Hell...o...Dean..." Cas wheezed out, his hot breath brushing Dean's side.  


Dean took a deep breath before stepping forward, placing his hands against Cas' scaly snout.  


Despite the warmth coming from the dragon's mouth, the scales were cool to the touch. The sludge that had exploded on them had already come off, leaving them dry and smooth.  


"You're beautiful," Dean muttered, his eyes running hungrily over the black scales that shimmered all the colors of the rainbow.  


"You...think...?" Cas asked.  


Dean looked up into the wide blue/yellow eyes that unmistakably screamed Cas. Despite his large stature and frightening countenance, he appeared as gentle and meek.  


How could anyone truly think that he could be a great and terrible beast?  


"Absolutely," Dean answered with conviction.  


"That's...good..." Cas answered slowly, the vibrations from his voice rumbling through Dean's hand, "I...was...worried..."  


He paused to breath shallowly, clearly forcing himself not to spit out sparks as Dean was standing right there.  


"What's wrong Cas?" Dean asked worried.  


"I...feel...sick..." he answered frustrated, "I...think..."  


He broke out into thick, deep gritty coughs coming deep from his throat, little sparks of flame sparking from his mouth and trailing to the ground.  


Dean petted Cas' scales and spoke thoughtfully, "Perhaps eating Dick wasn't as good for your digestive system as you originally thought."  


Cas took a couple of shallow breaths before answering, "On the...contrary...I...rather like...dick..."  


He paused before adding, "Well...your...dick...anyway."  


Dean laughed out loud, pressing a kiss onto Cas' scales. Even despite the pain, he could tell that Cas was pleased with himself.  


"How about this, you change back into your other form for me, and I'll let you have whatever you want," Dean promised.  


Cas nodded his head, so Dean stepped back.  


Everything was still for a full minute before Cas' body started to shift and change, shrinking down to him more familiar human-like frame.  


As his body changed, Benny stepped forward and spoke quietly to Dean, "It appears that the Leviathans have taken care of themselves."  


"Good," Dean answered, refusing to take his eyes off of Cas, in case anything happened.  


Once Cas was done shifting, his naked body was bent over on his hands and knees, his fingers clutched tightly in the lush green grass. He wings were drooped down to the side as his breaths were short and rapid.  


Dean raced forward, lifting Cas' head to look him in the eyes.  


"Cas?" he asked, terrified at what was happening.  


Cas looked at Dean, his eyes starting to loose focus as violent shivers convulsed through his body.  


"Benny!" Dean called out, grateful when his friend was already stepping forward holding out a long cloak.  


Dean wrapped Cas' body in the cloak before lifting him up into his arms.  


"We need to get out of here," Dean announced, his eyes never straying from Cas' sweaty face.  


Benny simply grabbed the bags, throwing all three over his shoulder.  


Dean turned to walk away, wanting to head towards the gate when Benny placed his hand on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. Dean looked back to see Benny holding out a gold bracelet with Enochian characters written on it.  


He sighed, "Thank you," before accepting the piece of jewelry and slipping it onto Cas' wrist regretfully, watching as his beautiful wings and scales flickered out of sight.  


Without those extra features, he seemed even more sickly.  


"We need to go," Dean said again, his voiced laced with a new found urgency, "I think he's getting worse."  


"Lead the way," Benny answered, holding out his arm for Dean to walk.  


Dean barely glanced at the grounds around him, noticing that there were spots of black goo here or there, but otherwise the Leviathans were completely gone. Once he stepped out of the gate, however, he had to take a momentary pause.  


"The fog," he said, surprised looking around the forest.  


"It's gone," Benny finished his sentence before he could.  


The fog that had been there on their trip to the castle had completely evaporated, leaving the way to the main road clear.  


Excited at this new revelation, Dean hurried through the trees as quickly as he could while carrying Cas' body tight in his arms with Benny only a few steps behind him.  


They walked for hours, Dean refusing to take a break, until his arms were shaking and could barely stand to hold his lover up anymore.  


Benny place his hand on Dean's arm and spoke softly, "Let me have a turn."  


Dean considered refusing. After all, this was his mate. That meant this was his responsibility.  


But he bit his lip, forcing himself not to speak as he allowed Benny to trade him: the bags for Cas.  


They continued walking, making it onto the main road and heading back up towards the town just outside of the edge of the forest. Dean dismissed the idea of resting, convinced that they needed to get to the town as soon as they could. Cas was constantly falling in and out of consciousness and Dean wanted him to get looked at immediately.  


Benny, bless him, never spoke a word against Dean's decision. He simply spoke softly with admiration at Cas' ability and bravery at stopping Dick and the rest of the Leviathans. He distracted Dean's mind and gave him motivation to push forward to reach the end.  


The constantly traded the task of carrying Cas, switching every few hours to give themselves a break. When one person had their arms empty, they would take the chance to drink some water and snack on a little bit of food to build up their energy.  


They continued down the road in this manner, making to the edge of the forest and approaching the small town in nearly half the time it took them to make the trip there.  


Dean, bursting with new energy at the sunlight and sight of the town, bounded forward, rushing to reach the town.  


As they hurried down the main street, whispers and exclamations followed them, everyone surprised to see two strange men coming from the Dark Forest carrying a body.  


Dean paid them no attention and headed straight for the Roadhouse, knowing that Ellen would have a room for them to stay in.  


When they arrived, he burst into the room, causing everyone to go silent at his presence, and scanned for Ellen. She found him before he found her.  


"What the hell happened to you?" Ellen asked, her eyes wide as she scanned the two haggard men and the shaking body, "Do you realize how long it's been? Bobby's been on my ass asking me every week if I've caught wind of you boys..."  


"Ellen," Dean interrupted, "I need a room and a medic immediately."  


Ellen pursed her lips before answering, "I can do that. But, Dean..."  


"Now," Dean growled.  


The older woman narrowed her eyes, before they softened into understanding.  


"Of course," she answered, before calling out, "Joanna! Go find me a medic!"  


Her blonde daughter set down her tray of drinks and called back, "Yes ma'am," before rushing out the front door.  


Dean followed Ellen up the stairs and down the hall to a large room in the back of the building where there could be some privacy.  


He gently laid Castiel onto the soft mattress, sitting down next to him and brushing his fingers through his dark hair, matted with dirt and sweat.  


Cas' eyes were moving rapidly beneath his lids as his body shook with shivers. A moan escaped his lips as he shifted in place, the shaking getting worse.  


"Dean," Ellen spoke softly, placing her hand on Dean's shoulder, "Bobby's gonna wanna know..."  


"Write Bobby and tell him I'm here," Dean answered quickly, his mind racing through the resources he was going to need, "Tell him I found the lost prince, who is now severely ill, and I'm going to need the castle's best medics to come out and attend to him."  


There was a beat of silence before Ellen answered back skeptically, "You just happened across the lost prince who just happened to be sick..."  


Dean rolled his eyes, his patience long gone replaced with his fervent worry for his possibly dying mate.  


"No, I didn't just happen upon him, I went out to find him."  


Ellen's eyebrows shot up, "And Bobby let you?"  


"I am the crowned Prince," Dean answered coolly, "Bobby doesn't let me do anything."  


Ellen bit her lip before asking again, "But how do you know he is who he says he is..."  


Dean growled, before launching into an explanation, "I met Cas when I was a kid. We left, but because of the curse that was placed on him, Dad forgot he existed and was convinced I'd made him up. He forbade me from speaking about him to anyone except for Sammy and Bobby and later Benny. Before I became King, I wanted to go find the Lost Prince and save him from his prison, so Benny and I set out to find him. We found him, convinced him to leave the castle, and fought the monsters that guarded the grounds. Cas ate Dick, which then led him to fall sick like he is, and now I think he may be dying. He needs help, and he needs it now!"  


Ellen's eyes shifted from Cas' unconscious form to Dean questioningly. It was clear his brief explanation had only brought up more concerns.  


Before Dean could bark angrily at her to get off her ass and do something, Benny stepped forward and pulled her back.  


"I'll fill you in while we write Bobby a letter," he assured her.  


Glancing back to Dean, he asked, "You gonna be okay?"  


Dean nodded, slumping back into a chair, his hand still clutched tightly in Cas', and answered, "Yeah. Just be sure to send up that medic as soon as they get here."  


He closed the door behind him, leaving Dean with Cas in near silence.  


Dean sat still, his eyes running over the pale figure of his love. He brought his hand up to his lips, kissing the skin tenderly, before muttering, "C'mon, sweetheart. You gotta get better for me. We just got you out of that damned place! I'm gonna take you home and we're gonna go down to the lake, remember? We'll play in the water, and rest in the grass, and I'll let you soar the skies. You just gotta wake up."  


A knock came at the door, interrupting his monologue, before Jo stepped in with a medic behind her.  


The medic was a tall, sultry woman with a smooth gait and a bright small. She winked at Dean as she sauntered in and introduced herself, "Hello there, Mr. Prince. I'm Dr. Pam Barnes, but you can call me Pam. I'm told your companion here is sick?"  


Dean nodded, ignoring Jo who had perched herself onto a table in the corner of the room, watching the exchange, and focused on the brunette doctor.  


"He is," Dean confirmed, running his thumb in what he hoped was soothing circles against Cas' palm, "I'm hoping you'll be able to help him."  


Pam's eyes caught the exchange and her gaze softened, "Hopefully I can. Our resources aren't as great out here are they are back at your castle..."  


"Help will be on its way soon," Dean assured her, "I just need you to stabilize him. Do what you can..."  


Pam nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed and placing her fingers against the pulse point on his neck.  


"Can you tell me what happened?" She asked.  


Dean took a deep breath, suddenly nervous, "Do you really need to know?"  


Pam raised an eyebrow, shooting an unimpressed look in his direction, "I kinda do, yeah."  


Dean nodded, glancing around the room as he tried to figure out the best approach. He spotted Jo and said, "Jo, I need you to get out of her for a few minutes."  


Jo scowled, "But I - "  


"Go," Dean ordered.  


Pam spoke up and said, "I'd really appreciate it you'd get me a bowl of room temperature water and a clean rag. This poor boy is freezing. The water should help to bring up his temperature."  


Jo nodded, still pouting at being kicked out of the room, but left without a fuss, closing the door gently behind her.  


Pam looked towards Dean, waiting for his explanation.  


"First off," Dean started, rolling his tongue over his teeth as he debated which approach he should take, "there's something you need to know about Cas."  


"Cas?" Pam asked kindly, encouraging Dean to keep speaking, "Is that his name?"  


"Castiel," Dean corrected, smiling softly down, wishing he could see those bright blue eyes staring back at him.  


"What do I need to know about Castiel?" Pam prompted.  


Dean licked his lips before stating frankly, "Cas is a dragon."  


Pam immediately retracted her hand, her eyes narrowing, "He's a what now?"  


"A dragon," Dean repeated firmly.  


Pam scrunched up her nose, looking down at Cas' body, reluctant to continue working on him.  


"Is that going to be a problem?" Dean asked evenly, his eyes catching Pam's obvious display of distaste.  


Pam pursed her lips, "I'm not trained to tend to _dragons_ ," she answered back, her mouth curling unpleasantly around the last word.  


"You will tend to who ever the hell I want you to," Dean challenged.  


"Dragons killed my fiancé, Jesse," she retorted.  


"People kill others all the time," Dean replied matter-of-factly, "And yet you wouldn't refuse to care for them."  


He bent forward catching Pam's eye before pressing forward, "I'm sorry about your fiancé, I truly am, but that wasn't Cas' fault. Don't blame him for the actions of others."  


Pam looked up towards the ceiling, her eyes clenched shut or she sighed in defeat, "I will certainly try, Your Highness."  


"I don't want you to simply _try_ , I want to see results," Dean ordered.  


Pam clenched her jaw before nodding briskly and leaned forward to continue her overall inspection.  


"So, then, how did the _dragon_ get this way?"  


"You will address him with respect as Prince Castiel," Dean scolded.  


She sighed, "How did _Prince Castiel_ get this way, then?"  


"Long story short, he ate a Leviathan named Dick. Started shaking just a short time after before loosing consciousness completely."  


"You're joking," Pam replied dryly.  


"Do I fucking look I'm joking?" Dean demanded, his teeth bared, wondering how much longer he was willing to put up with this shit.  


Pam looked back up towards the ceiling and muttered, "I do not get paid enough for this."  


"Either start your diagnosis, Doc, or get the hell out of here," Dean exploded, his voice raising, "My mate's life is on the line right now and if you're not willing to help, then get the hell out of my Kingdom!"  


Pam's face hardened with momentary rage, before it softened into what seemed to be understanding. Her mouth formed a small 'o' as she glanced in between Dean's hunched over and battered figure to Cas' pale nearly still figure lying on the bed, his cold hands held tightly in Dean's warm ones. She looked back up at Dean, catching his green eyes before she nodded, surprising the Prince as she bent down to continue working without another word of complaint.  


Behind them a timid voice spoke up, "Holy shit."  


Dean turned his head back to find Jo standing in the door, holding the bowl of water Pam had requested, her jaw dropped at Dean's exclamations.  


Dean took several deeps breath, trying to reign in his anger, as Pam looked up at Jo, still frozen in the doorway.  


"I was mistaken before," Pam determined, "I actually need a bowl of cold water. The colder the better. In fact, if you have some ice you could add to it, that would be best."  


Jo tilted her head, "But, before you said..."  


"And now I'm saying this," she interrupted, waving her hand in a shooing motion.  


Jo looked in between the two before huffing and stomping out of the room.  


The room was quiet again until Pam stated quietly, "I don't know how to treat a creature who has been infected by another medieval monster. They didn't cover this in my training."  


Dean rubbed his free hand over his face before pleading, "Please..."  


"The best I can do is try and keep him comfortable and stable until your fancy doctors get here from the castle," she told him honestly.  


"Anything is better than nothing," he begrudgingly stated, hoping that the medics that were on their way would at least know what to do.  


"I need you to list all of the symptoms that you've seen," she ordered.  


"Uhh..." Dean stumbled, trying to think back as the door opened from behind him.  


"Sweating, aching, sharp pain in his abdominal area, difficultly breathing, and loss of consciousness," Benny's slow drawled rattled off as he walked through the door, with Ellen and Jo following close behind.  


Jo brought in her bowl of water, passing it off to Pam who immediately wet the clothe and dabbed the drops of sweat running down Cas' face.  


"Hmm," Pam sighed thoughtfully, her mind racing for diagnosis.  


"What's the verdict, Doc?" Benny asked, placing a hand on Dean's shoulder to help ground him.  


"It sounds as though he's been poisoned," she admitted, moving the wet cloth down his face and onto the side of his neck.  


"Can you treat it?" Dean asked hopefully.  


Pam shrugged, "I don't know how certain medicines are going to affect his body and what would be or wouldn't be effective. My best suggestion would be to force him to take some activated charcoal."  


"What does that do?" Benny asked calmly.  


"Assuming it works for him, it should bind itself to the poison, or in this case the substance in his body, and stop it from further absorbing into his blood. If anything, it will hopefully delay him from getting worse until someone else can come take a look at him."  


She paused, scratching her nose before continuing, "Of course, we can't know for sure whether or not this will work. While I'm hopeful that this will help, it is entirely possible that the charcoal will do nothing or cause more damage."  


"What kind of damage?" Dean asked.  


"If his body rejects the charcoal it will happen in one of two ways. Either nothing will happen, in which case, I'll stop administering it as I don't think there's any point in taking a medication that doesn't appear to be helping, or his body will begin to shut down. Symptoms could include things like rashes or hives on his body, persistent vomiting or diarrhea, swelling of the mouth, or decreased breathing."  


"That sounds bad," Dean moaned.  


Pam shrugged, "He could be fine, he might not be. I don't really know. I can try and do more research to see if I can find anything on his species, but I don't know how long that'll take."  


"His species?" Jo spoke up confused, openly gawking at Castiel, "What is he?"  


Everyone ignored her.  


"I don't think we have time for that..." Dean admitted reluctantly, rubbing his temple trying to stave off the headache that was starting to come.  


"I'm inclined to agree with you, Your Highness," Pam openly stated.  


Dean turned to Benny, looking for guidance, "What do you suggest? Should I take the risk?"  


Benny thought for a moment before turning back to Pam, "What will you do if the charcoal responds badly in his body."  


"Treat it like an allergy," she answered back. "We'll stop the treatments immediately and proceed from there. I have several antihistamines on hand, that should work for anyone, no matter the species."  


He turned back to Dean, "In that case, I'd recommend trying it, Sire."  


Dean looked up towards the ceiling, running his options through his mind once more before declaring, "Okay then. Go for it."  


"Alright," Pam nodded, passing off the bowl of water to Benny and instructed him, "I want you to continue wiping him down with cool water until I return. I'm going to run back to my office and grab the things I need. We'll start the treatment as soon as I get back."  


"Yes ma'am," Benny answered, accepting the bowl and immediately turning to place the wet cloth back onto Cas' body.  


"I can do that," Dean offered, grateful to jump at the chance to do something productive.  


"Jo," Pam started, heading for the door, "I'd appreciate it if you'd accompany me. Another pair of hands would be a great help."  


"Of course, Doctor," Jo replied quickly, jumping up to follow the older woman out the door.  


"When was the last time you boys ate?" Ellen asked, her hands on her hips.  


"We had little bits of food here and there along the trail here to keep up our strength," Benny assured her.  


She frowned, "I'll go make you boys some food and grab each of you a drink."  


"I'm not hungry," Dean mumbled automatically.  


"You should eat, anyway," Ellen scolded, "I'll be back in a bit."  


"Am I making the right decision?" Dean asked miserably, brushing Cas' pale cheek with his thumb as Ellen walked out to door, leaving the three boys in private.  


"It'll be okay," Benny assured Dean.  


They sat in silence, both watching Cas' chest as it rose up and down to match his short breaths. What seemed like both an eternity and no time at all passed before Ellen returned with some food, pestering both men to eat.  


Dean picked at the sandwich on his plate, forcing himself to take a few bites to placate the motherly woman hounding him. He quickly abandoned the effort when Pam and Jo returned to the room.  


"Alright, let's get started," she said, shooing Benny out of his spot so she could sit next to Cas. She pulled out a glass jar with a thick black powder and a measuring device.  


"Now," she spoke while scooping up a heap of the black powder, "The trick is to get him to swallow."  


"How do you do that?" Dean asked skeptically while looking at the mostly unconscious body before him.  


"Like this," she answered, leaning down and speaking softly, "Castiel, we're going to give you charcoal now to try and help with your symptoms. Dean and I are going to lift you so you're sitting up. I'll place the powder in your mouth and I want you to swallow it. Once you do, we'll let you back down again. Think you can do that?"  


She nodded at Dean who helped to follow her instructions, lifting Cas up so he was in a sitting position. Pam dumped the charcoal into a small cup, adding a small dosage of water and mixing it together. She held the cup up to Cas' mouth and said, "Now it's time to drink."  


Dean held his breath as he watched Pam tip the liquid into his mouth. Cas immediately started coughing, spitting out any of the charcoal that had made it into his mouth.  


"No spitting," Pam said firmly, lifting the cup up to try again.  


Miraculously, Cas started swallowing the liquid as soon as it touched his lips. He was able to get through half the cup before he began coughing violently again.  


"There, there," Pam spoke softly, rubbing Cas' back in smooth circles, "Just one more drink. Then you're done."  


She lifted the cup up one more time and Cas took another few swallows before breaking out into coughs, black liquid dribbling down his chin.  


"That's good," Pam praised, wiping the cloth over Cas' mouth to wipe away the drool, "You did very well. Once you catch your breath, we'll lay you back again."  


It took a full minute before Cas was able to control his coughing and return to his shallow breaths. Pam nodded at Dean to help lay Cas back down with his head resting on the pillow, instructing him to lie him on his side in case he has any symptoms.  


"We want to make sure his airways don't get blocked," she explained as she helped.  


Dean kissed Cas' forehead whispering, " _I love you_ " into his skin before turning towards Pam.  


"Now what?" he asked expectantly.  


She frowned apologetically and sat back in her chair, "And now? We wait."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! The month of May kicked my butt! I wish I could say the next few weeks look any better...
> 
> The next chapter shouldn't take nearly this long to get out, but it will be another week or two. I appreciate your kind words and your patience!
> 
> You are all wonderful human beings (unless you're an alien or a dragon or something, in which case you're wonderful at being that) and I'm so grateful that you've taken the time to read and comment on one of my stories!
> 
> Thank you!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy!

The following night was one of the hardest of Dean’s life.  


Waiting out on the battle field with high probability of death?  


No problem.  


Having an assassination attempt on him in the middle of the night?  


Bring it on.  


Watching his mate struggle to breath as tremors shook through out his body and not being able to do anything about it?  


Fucking terrifying.  


He stayed by Cas’ bedside, his hand held in his, running his thumb over the soft skin on his palm. After he was given the charcoal, most people had filtered out of the room, to which Dean was grateful. All that was left was him and Benny, with Pam coming in occasionally to make sure her patient was doing okay.  


He glanced at the clock continually, counting down the hours to when this night would end and reinforcements would come.  


_**Hour 1**_  


Pam counted beneath her breath as she held two fingers against the dragon's neck, counting the pulses of his beating heart.  


“He's holding steady,” She announced positively.  


Dean nodded his head, letting out a shaky breath.  


This was good news. Holding steady was a great thing.  


“He keeps up this and he'll be up in no time,” she predicts, setting aside her equipment and stepping aside so Benny could return to his seat on the other side of Castiel's body.  


“Thank you, Dr. Barnes,” Benny answered for the crowned Prince, knowing the other man wouldn't want to use his mouth.  


Pam hummed, finishing tidying up her stuff, “I'll be back in about 20 – 30 to check again. Let me know if you need anything.”  


The two men nodded as she left them alone in the silence.  


_**Hour 2**_  


“Benny?” Dean croaked, his voice raw from yelling earlier and then the lack of use.  


Benny looked up, choosing not to answer verbally but simply held onto Dean's attention to show him he was listening.  


Dean opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, unsure as to what he wanted to ask.  


He finally got out timidly, “He's going to be okay, right? “  


Benny frowned slightly, glancing down at the presently unconscious dragon lying in between the two of them. He was holding out, the same as he'd been the hour before. There was no reason to believe he wouldn't pull through, but his lack of consciousness was still alarming to the two men who had no background in medicine what so ever.  


Benny looked back up at Dean, attempting to smile reassuringly, “Of course, he is. “  


Dean wasn’t sure if the burly man was trying to convince him or himself.  


Dean nodded, reminding himself that there was no reason to panic.  


Cas would get through this, he'd pull through.  


He was doing great, there was no reason that he wouldn't.  


After all, everything was going exactly to plan for him to make a speedy recovery.  


Right?  


_**Hour 3**_  


“He's shaking again,” Dean spoke into the stillness, watching the tremors glide down his lover’s body, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead.  


Benny wordlessly handed Dean a cool washcloth to dab against his skin.  


“He’ll pull through, “ Benny assured Dean, much as he'd been doing the entire trip, “He's a strong one.”  


“Yeah, “ Dean smiled fondly, running the cloth down the side of his face and brushing his fingers through the dragon’s damp black hair, “He's amazing.”  


It was strange to actually feel the tremors going through his body and vibrating against his fingertips. The trauma and shock his mate was going through was so great, it was literally physical manifesting itself in a slow and torturous method.  


Dean cursed Castiel's decision (and not for the first time) to eat that Leviathan.  


He was terrified at how this was affecting him.  


Would he be okay?  


He had to be: Dean had no idea how he would live without him if he wasn't.  


The shaking steadily grew worse beneath Dean’s fingertips. He placed his forehead against Cas' and whispered sweet words of motivation as he waited for it to pass through.  


**_Hour 5_**  


“Pam! Get Pam! “ Dean yelled as he helplessly brushed the side of his mate's sweat soaked hair.  


Not even a minute had passed when Pam ran into the room, rushing to Cas’ other side.  


“What's happening now?” she asked quickly, reaching forward to check his vitals the best she could.  


Her answer came from Cas as he gurgled and gagged before vomiting into a bowl Dean had set up beside him.  


“Oh sweetie,” she said placating, holding Cas’ hand in her own and patting Dean on the side of his cheek, “This is okay. This is still within the realm of normal.”  


“He's puking! “ Dean protested, “Hope can that be considered normal?”  


“The charcoal in his body should have bonded to the poison now,” the doctor explained, “as a measure to help get rid of excess poison the body can't safely absorb, the natural reaction is to vomit the excess.”  


Dean nodded, holding onto Cas’ hand tighter.  


“We’ll keep an eye on it for now, but I assure you there's nothing to worry about just yet.”  


Dean nodded, his eyes shifting to glance at Benny who was starting back with the same skepticism he felt.  


Good, at least someone was on his side.  


“Just keep him propped up so that if he vomits again, we can ensure that his airways don't get blocked. Can you do that?”  


Dean opened his mouth, not liking the condescending tone he felt was coming from the doctor, but Benny spoke up first, “Yes ma’am.”  


Dean grumbled his agreement as well, turning his body completely away so his entire focus was back onto his lover again.  


“Good,” Pam responded, “I'll just be outside. Call if you need anything.”  


She left before the could respond.  


“How the hell is this considered normal?” Dean scoffed.  


Benny shook his head, “I don't know. But, Pam's the expert, so I reckon she knows what she's talking about.”  


Dean kept his mouth shut, not wanting to voice allowed his doubts about that too.  


_**Hour 8**_  


“I'm telling you, it’s getting worse!”  


“And I believe you,” the doctor assured him, “But it's nothing to…”  


“if you dare try to tell me it's nothing to worry about, so help me, I will…”  


“Dean, “ Benny spoke up warningly.  


Dean growled threateningly at Pam, but conceded. He slumped back down into his spot, not caring that he probably looked like a pouting child.  


“How frequently is he throwing up?” Pam prompted, patiently waiting for an answer.  


“Uh, I don't know,” Dean answered helplessly, quickly glancing at Benny with worried eyes, “This is maybe his fourth, fifth time within the past hour? “  


Benny nodded in agreement, “That sounds about right.”  


“Okay,” Pam nodded, “I want to keep an eye on it. You're right, he is throwing up more, but it's still nothing to cause concern. I promise.”  


“Nothing to cause concern, my ass,” Dean muttered under his breath.  


“Isn't there anything we can do?” Benny urged, both him and Pam effectively ignoring Dean and his grumblings.  


Pam shook her head sadly, “I'm sorry, but I think the best thing to do is wait until the medical team from the castle gets here. It's just a waiting game now.”  


_**Hour 10 ½**_  


“How's he doing?” Ellen whispered at the doorway, glancing behind the burly body guard blocking her way into the room.  


“He's not getting any worse, I guess,” Benny responded, rubbing the side of his face, “I don't really feel like that's saying all that much to be honest with you, but Pam seems hopeful. He's peaked out to only vomiting about 7 or 8 times an hour…”  


“I'm not asking about the boy laid up on the bed,” Ellen interrupted sternly, “At this point I'm more concerned about the boy who's sitting next to it, refusing to leave for anything.”  


Benny sighed, his shoulders slumping forward, “Honestly? He's the one I'm concerned about too.”  


“When was the last time he ate? Slept? Took a shower? “ Ellen prompted.  


Benny chuckled humorlessly, “When was the last time you brought him something?”  


“A couple of hours ago.”  


“Then it was about three times before that.”  


“Dammit,” Ellen cursed under her breath, “Bobby’s not gonna be happy about this.”  


“Is he ever happy?” Benny joked.  


“We've got to get him out of that room, “ the older woman declared, shooting Benny a pointed look as though she would hit him if he dared to disagree with her.  


“If you think of a way, I'm all ears,” the man invited, sighing before concluding, “The only way Dean is leaving that room is if Cas is coming out with him.”  


Ellen hesitated before admitting, “That's what I don't understand. Why is he so…attached?”  


Benny raised an eye brow, “Haven't you ever been in love before?”  


Ellen ignored the question, “It's just, this whole story: him going on a quest to find the lost Prince, finding him, falling in love, battling ancient monsters…this situation seems so…”  


“Fairytale-esque?” He suggested.  


“Fake,” she corrected, “I can see that he thinks he's in love, but…”  


“I know it's hard to believe,” Benny spoke cautiously, glancing back to make sure Dean wasn’t listening in, “but he truly loves him. It's easier to see when Cas is awake the bond that these two have. And this isn't just some whim. They met when Dean was a kid and he's been working towards this for as long as I've known him.”  


“I don't know,” she replied hesitantly.  


“I promise, Cas is not in any danger to Dean. I was cautious when I first met him too, but once you get to know him…” Benny trailed off, looking back over his shoulder at the unconscious figure on the bed, “They're perfect for each other. You'll understand once he wakes up.”  


Ellen hummed, “We’ll see.”  


Benny assured her once again, “Trust me, Ellen. Trust that I would never let anything or anyone bad ever harm my prince.”  


Her shoulders relaxed slightly, “I know, sweetie. You’re the best guard Dean could have.”  


“So, going back to our original problem, “ Benny concluded, “You should bring Dean something to drink. Something with nutrients, not alcohol. I think that'll be your best bet at this time.”  


Ellen nodded in agreement, squeezing Benny's shoulder before heading down to the kitchens.  


**_Hour 11 ½_**  


“His eyes are open! “ Dean exclaimed, hunching over his lover to look into his now open blue eyes.  


Benny jumped from his seat, shouting out the door for Pam before racing to his place next to Cas’ bedside.  


“Never thought I'd be so happy to see those baby blues,” Benny teased, holding Cas’ other hand and smiling brightly.  


Pam raced into the room, Jo following close behind and spoke out of breath, “What happened? If everything alright?”  


“He's looking at me,” Dean exclaimed, smiling brightly back at Benny.  


Pam's shoulders dropped as she walked forward hesitantly.  


“Oh, honey,” she sighed, placing a manicured hand against Castiel's shin.  


“This is a good thing,” Dean pressed, “right?”  


Pam chewed on her lower lip before admitting, “Sometimes, patients will open their eyes before regaining consciousness. While his body is functioning, his mind isn't entirely there. He may be looking in your direction, but he may not have any clue who you are as his brain is still partly unresponsive  


Dean frowned, starting at the unblinking brought blue eyes watching him carefully. Now that he looked carefully, his eyes looked almost glossed over, as though he were looking, but not really seeing anything.  


“Oh,” Dean said, slumping back into his seat.  


“I'm sorry,” Pam said, before slipping back out.  


Jo sent a pitying look at Dean before following the doctor.  


Cas and Dean stared at each other before Cas slowly closed his eyes, his body going lax again.  


**_Hour 13_**  


Jo leaned against the door, her head resting against the frame, listening closely to the words spoken inside.  


_“Pam reckons that you can hear my voice. She thinks that if we have a connection, me talking to you can probably help. Shit, I hope so Cas, cause sitting here doing nothing is killing me. I can't lose you, I just can't. I never realized how empty my life was before, until I met you. You make me happy, you make me want to be better. Without you…_  


_“You know, when I first met you, I thought you were beautiful. I remembered all the stories my dad had told me about the lost Prince and how he was attractive. But, when I saw you, I thought the stories hadn't done you justice. You are so much more than good looking. You’re smart and patient and loving and so damn sexy. I honestly have no clue why you settled for me, but dammit Cas, I'm going to work hard every day to make sure you don't regret it._  


_“I need you, Cas. Plain and simple. I. Need. You. I always have and I always will._  


_“When my dad told me that you weren't real when I was a kid, I was devastated. The only thing that got me through was the knowledge that one day I would find you and we would be together again._  


_“I just got you back, Cas. I can't lose you again. I don't think I'll survive if I do…_  


_“Just, please, come back to me. Wake up for me sweetheart._  


_“I love you.”_  


Jo sat, listening to the stillness after Dean's speech, goosebumps racing down her arm.  


A hand reached out, touching her arm, causing her to yelp and jump into the air. She glared at the hand, angry it had caught her off guard.  


“What are you doing up here?” Pam asked suspiciously.  


“Just waiting for you,” Jo answered back innocently.  


Pam scrutinized her before deciding it wasn't worth it and entered the room.  


_**Hour 15**_  


“It's getting worse!” Dean growled, watching as the doctor counted the dragon's racing heart beats.  


“I promise you, this is considered normal…” Pam began.  


Dean cut her off, “Normal?! Nothing about this is normal!”  


“Your Highness, please calm down,” Pam requested firmly, shooting him an annoyed look.  


"No, I will not calm down!" He shouted, "My mate is dying and I'm just sitting here!"  


"Dean," Benny started quietly, not even remotely surprised when Dean interrupted him, pointing an accusing finger in Pam's direction.  


"How do I know your not trying to sabotage him?"  


Pam curled her lip in distaste, "How dare you, I would never..."  


"You didn't want him as a patient to begin with," Dean reminded her, "You were disgusted at the thought of caring for him."  


"I am a professional, your Highness," she answered coolly, "I can set aside my prejudices and beliefs to give the best care and treatment to my patient, no matter who or what he is."  


"Is that what your doing now? Caring for him?" He scoffed, "Cause this right here looks like neglect."  


"Normally, the treatment for an overdose of a poisonous substance - " Pam started.  


"I don't care what you normally do, I need you to figure out how to heal him now!"  


The room was quiet for a moment, heavy breathing coming from Dean. He took a shaky breath before speaking dangerously, "I don't think you remember what's at stake for you here if he dies on your watch."  


Pam gulped, "Your Highness... I'm - "  


"Not doing enough," Dean concluded, "Find a solution. Now. The longer you wait, the more creative my retribution for killing my mate will be."  


Pam blinked at the threatening figure.  


After a moment of silence she agreed, "Yes, my Prince," before leaving the room quickly.  


**_Hour 15 ½_**  


"She is trying," Benny spoke softly, the first words being spoken since Pam walked out that door, "Every time she leaves here, she's pouring over books trying to see if there are any other records of dragon's being treated for poison."  


"She's not searching hard enough," Dean responded stubbornly.  


"Dean..."  


"No Benny," he answered with hard eyes, "I'm not going to apologize or whatever other bull shit you're going to try and tell me. If she was working more, we wouldn't have this problem!"  


"And that gives you the right to treat the person who is caring for your mate like shit?" Benny challenged.  


Dean shrugged apologetically, "If her treatment is shit, then yeah."  


Benny shook his head, disappointed, "Dean, you can't..."  


Dean barked out a laugh, "I can't? You honestly are going to try and tell me what I can or can't do?"  


His eyes narrowed and he continued, "I'm the damn crowned Prince. I can and will do whatever the hell I want. And if that includes treating someone like shit, then dammit, that's what I'm going to do."  


Benny pursed his lips, taking a deep breath before asking boldly, "Would Cas agree with you there?"  


If looks could kill, Benny would be incarcerated on the floor, and then some.  


"Cas isn't here to tell me whether or not he'd agree with me," Dean finally said.  


Benny opened his mouth to speak up again, but Dean interjected, "I have been lenient with you, but you would do well to remember who you serve."  


Benny immediately bowed his head and answered quietly, "Of course, my Prince. I'm sorry for speaking out of place."  


Dean nodded, satisfied, "Don't speak again. I need some peace and quiet."  


_**Hour 18**_  


"Where's Mr. High and Mighty?" Ellen asked, setting down a tray of sandwiches, despite knowing they likely wouldn't be eaten as 

Pam hurried to check the vital signs on her patient before the second man came back.  


"His bladder was about to explode, so he chose to use the bathroom, at fear of peeing his pants," Benny answered calmly.  


"I'm surprised, to tell you the truth," Ellen hummed thoughtfully.  


Benny chuckled, admitting, "He wasn't going to, but I reminded him that when Cas woke up, he probably didn't want Cas to smell his mate covered in urine."  


"Wise," the older woman responded.  


Benny turned to the doctor and asked, "How long before back-up gets here?"  


Pam sighed, "I just got a messenger an hour ago. They're projecting to be here sometime tomorrow morning."  


"So, we just have to make it through tonight?" Benny confirmed.  


"That's the hope."  


"Did anything happen while I was away?" Dean panted, bursting through the door.  


"No, your Majesty," Benny answered, "He's stable, just as he was when you left 4 and a half minutes ago."  


Dean sighed, partly in frustration and partly in relief.  


He plopped back down in his spot, immediately picking up Cas hand into his own again, placing it against his forehead.  


The two woman glanced at each other before nodding at Benny and quietly slipping out of the room unnoticed.  


**_Hour 20_**  


"So, that really is the crowned Prince in there?" a big, burly man with a long brown beard asked, stretching his neck to try and look up the stairs off to his right.  


"Sure is," Jo replied, flinging back her long blonde hair.  


"And who were the men with him?" Another man asked curiously.  


"Well, the one standing next to him, the big muscle-y one, is Benny: his personal guard," she turned to one of the guys with short blonde hair, pointed her finger in warning, and spoke firmly, "So, don't you go trying any funny business around here."  


The blonde man looked affronted, "Wouldn't dream of it," while surreptitiously placing some silverware in his lap.  


"What about the unconscious man?" The first prodded on.  


Jo fluttered her eyelashes and sighed, "That was his true love."  


"His true love?" the men chorused back.  


She nodded and leaned in close, as though she were sharing a secret, "When the Prince was young, he was apart of a caravan that was attacked along the path in the dark woods."  


"I remember when that happened," a skinny, smiley man with a boyish face answered excitedly.  


Jo shot him a look for interrupting her, then continued, "Well, during this attack, the Prince got lost in the woods. While he was running, he stumbled into a castle, and met this beautiful man who lived alone."  


The men's eyes widened at the suggestion, leaning in closer to listen to the story.  


"The man helped the young Prince Dean escape the Lost Woods, as he was just a child and couldn't do anything to help in return. So, Prince Dean vowed to return to the Lost Woods one day, find this lost and lonely man, and bring him home."  


"Wait," a small, wiry man with black beady eyes spoke indigenous, "You trying to tell us that that unconscious man in there is the lost prince?"  


"That's exactly what I'm telling you, Bert," she snarked back, a hand resting on her hip.  


"B-bu-but," another big, husky fellow stammered, "How did he find him?"  


"Twice?" The man's twin sitting next to him added.  


"I told you," Jo spoke slowly, "It was destiny for these two to be together."  


The men chattered in between themselves, not quite believing what the pretty, young blonde waitress was telling them.  


The big burly man scratched his beard thoughtfully before asking concerned, "So, what's wrong with him? The Lost Prince, I mean?"  


Everyone stopped talking to turn their undivided attention back towards Jo.  


Jo frowned and spoke sadly, "Well, when the two Princes were trying to escape, the monsters trapping the Lost Prince tried to stop them."  


Jo paused, for dramatic effect, smirking at the silence in the room, as she had the attention of every patron there, "Our Prince was willing to die to save his true love, but the Lost Prince wouldn't let him sacrifice himself. So, he jumped in to save him the last minute."  


Jo stared off to the side at the stairs, leading up to where the two princes were holed up and sighed again, "They were both so brave, and they love each other so much. We can only hope that he pulls through so our beloved Prince Dean won't have to live a life without his love."  


The men all nodded, captivated by her tale, completely agreeing.  


"What's the Lost Prince's name?" the burly man asked.  


Jo smiled, "Prince Castiel."  


Castiel's name was murmured throughout the bar, all of the patron's trying out his name on their lips.  


The leader stood up, raising his glass, indicating every patron in the bar follow his lead and turned back to Jo, "A toast: to our Prince and his true love."  


"Hear, hear!" A chorus rang through-out the room.  


"Long live our soon to be King Dean," the man spoke, waiting as the men in the room copied his words before adding, "And long live his love, Prince Castiel."  


The men copied his sentiments and they drank their cups, the noise level rising back up now that the conversation was over.  


The man turned to Jo and spoke firmly, "Now, Miss Jo, next time you go up to see the Princes, you let them know that we're thinking about them and keeping them in our thoughts."  


"Yes sir," Jo replied happily, before bouncing back towards the bar.  


Her mother stood behind, frowning at her daughter, "What are you up to?"  


"What do you mean?" Jo asked innocently, before grabbing another tray of drinks and bouncing off to another section of the room.  


Her mother watched her retreating figure, shaking her head, deciding not to worry about her daughter's intentions, and continued back to her bartending.  


**_Hour 24_**  


Benny held up a finger against his lips as Pam quietly sneak in through the door.  


She raised an eyebrow at him as he pointed to Dean's slumped over figure, sleeping soundly hovering over Cas' body.  


"Finally," Pam muttered under her breath, being careful not to disturb the sleeping Prince as she checked to make sure everything was looking okay.  


She finished her tasks, before whispering as softly as she could, "How long as he been out?"  


"About a half an hour, now," Benny whispered back.  


"Good," Pam replied firmly, "He needs the sleep."  


"Agreed," Benny spoke, rubbing the palm of his hand against his face.  


"How about you?" Pam asked concerned, "Have you gotten any sleep?"  


Benny shrugged, "I've been sneaking in fifteen minutes here and there for the past twenty-four hours. I'm tired, sure, but not 

nearly as bad off as he was. I'm better trained for staying awake for long periods of time, being his guard and all."  


"I suppose you'd have to be," Pam relented, patting her hand against his shoulder, "Hang in there, it shouldn't be much longer until help gets here."  


Benny nodded, smiling softly.  


**_Hour 27_**  


"I'm awake!" Dean started as he sat up quickly, blinking rapidly to try and regain his bearings.  


"Just in time, too," Benny spoke calmly from his seat next to the window as he gazed out at the horizon, "We just got word from the caravan. The medical team is less than an hour away."  


"Fuck, finally," Dean moaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he yawned tiredly.  


Benny hummed, choosing not to respond to Dean's complaints.  


Dean slumped back in his seat, counting down the minutes until the wait was finally over.  


**_Hour 28 - The End of Waiting_**  


"Alright, where is he?" a deep woman's voice spoke through the door, before flinging the thing open, and staring at the sight in front of her with a large frown.  


The two conscious boys looked up, surprise etched on their faces, while the third lay still on the bed in between them.  


She scrutinized the two awake boys, seeing their haggard appearance and tired eyes and tutted.  


"Just because your boy is lied up in bed, doesn't mean you have to stop taking care of yourself," she scolded both the Prince and his guard, stepping forward.  


"Missouri," Dean sighed, standing up quickly, knuckles white as they clutched the side of the chair he was sitting in to keep his balance steady.  


"You out of your damn mind?" Missouri scolded, frowning at the young Prince while he scowled back at her, "When was the last time you slept? Or ate? Or took a damn shower for that matter?"  


Dean pursed his lips, "It's not important."  


"Like hell it's not important," Missouri countered, "You think your handsome Prince here would want you neglecting himself while his body's healing?"  


Dean opened his mouth, but Missouri spoke again before he could interrupt her, "No, I'm sure he wouldn't. So, you get your tight ass out of here, have something to eat, take a shower, and get a few hours of sleep. Doctor's orders."  


Dean shook his head, "But I - "  


Missouri interrupted, "But, nothing. I'm the doctor and I'm saying you need to do this for your own health. I promise, if anything happens, you'll be the first one to know."  


Dean turned to Benny, a pleading look on his face, but the other man simply shook his head, "Sorry, Prince, in a fight between you and her, my money's on Missouri."  


"As it should be," Missouri spoke smugly, leaning over Castiel's body to check his pulse, "Now, get."  


Dean held up a hand, "Wait, there are some things you need to know about Cas..."  


"Yes, I'm aware he's a dragon and that he was poisoned by eating a Leviathan. Benny here was very thorough in his letter to Bobby, who filled me in on the whole situation. I've got everything under control," she raised an eyebrow at him and threatened, "Now, don't make me tell you again."  


Dean whined, looking at Cas' slumped form when another voice came from the door, "Best do what she tells you, boy."  


Dean quickly turned at the sound, sighing as he spotted Bobby leaning in the doorway, watching him carefully.  


"Bobby," Dean spoke relieved, stepping forward hesitantly, as though he weren't sure he had permission to.  


Bobby held open his arms, pulling Dean in and wrapping him in a hug. Dean leaned into the embrace, knowing that hugs from Bobby were rare and that he should be grateful he got this one.  


"It's gonna be okay, son," Bobby promised him, patting him on the back lightly.  


He coughed awkwardly before letting go of the embrace and slapping Dean on the back, "Now, do what Missouri tells you to do. Eat some food and take a shower, I'll stop by your room after you catch some sleep to get an update."  


Dean nodded, more willing to listen to the man who practically raised him and followed his instructions.  


\--  


Dean looked at the clock when he woke up, shocked to see that a full nine hours had passed since he'd been kicked out of Castiel's room.  


He stumbled out of the bed he was lying in, stretching his neck before heading out of the room. He headed straight towards the room they'd been using as a makeshift hospital room, stopping all conversation as he slipped inside.  


He glanced at the group who was sitting in a circle, Missouri at the head with Pam and Bobby on each side. Benny was leaning against the wall, looking as though he had woken up not much sooner than Dean had himself. There were a few nurses bustling around the room, all avoiding looking at Dean as they quickly did their tasks.  


There were piles of gifts and mountains of flowers spread throughout the entire room, confusing Dean even further.  


Missouri looked up at Dean, pulling him out of his scrutiny, and smiled smugly, "Well, well, look who decided to join the land of the living."  


Dean grumbled as he took a seat next to Benny in the circle and asked, "How's he doing?"  


"There's no swaying your thoughts now, is there?" Missouri replied flatly, before continuing, "He's doing great. I suspect he should wake up in the next few hours."  


Dean sighed in relief.  


Cas was going to be okay.  


"What was wrong with him?" he asked.  


"He was poisoned by the Leviathan's blood," Missouri answered, confirming what they'd suspected the entire time, "There are very few things that can injure a dragon as badly as he's been hurt. It just so happens that leviathans are one of those things. Because the poison was in his system for a long time before you were able to get here to start treatment, it's taken his body a lot longer to eject the black substance than one would have hoped."  


Missouri shot a smile in Pam's direction, before continuing, "Fortunately, Doctor Barnes here was able to diagnose him quickly and administer the charcoal, which in this case and with her resources, was the best option and route to go."  


Dean nodded, feeling a little sheepish at how he treated Pam over the past couple of days, knowing that this wasn't one of his high moment.  


He coughed awkwardly before asking curiously, "What did you do once you got here?"  


"He needed some grace water to help the magic in his blood flow more freely. Once we hydrated him we've ben able to get some other nutrients in him and he was almost good as new."  


Dean smiled softly, "Good. I'm glad he's better."  


"Why don't you go over next to your boy and wait for him to wake up. We're going to run and grab something to eat. We'll bring some back."  


Dean nodded, his stomach growling in agreement as he quickly stood up and scurried over to his place next to Castiel's bedside.  


"Hey, baby," Dean whispered to the stirring man, running his thumb over his skin as he sat in his place.  


Everyone slowly filed out of the room, leaving him alone with a few nurses filtering in and out, Benny, and Bobby.  


Bobby cleared his throat before asking, "You know what you're doing?"  


Dean looked up and laughed, "I've got no clue. But, I'm sure about him, Bobby."  


Bobby shook his head, "Just because you are, doesn't mean that the rest of us are. We've got concerns. And I plan on grilling him as soon as he wakes up."  


Dean nodded, "I understand."  


The older man hummed satisfied before following a nurse out of the room.  


Dean looked up at Benny and said sincerely, "Hey, man, I'm sorry..."  


Benny held up his hand to silence him, "Nothing to apologize to _me_ for."  


Dean cringed, knowing he needed to swallow his pride and apologize to Pam, especially now that she'd received Missouri's praise for doing everything right.  


"Still," Dean pressed on, "You're a good friend, Benny."  


Benny smiled, choosing not to respond.  


They sat in silence for another moment before Dean asked, pointing to the piles of things around the room, "What is all this stuff?"  


Benny chuckled, "They're from Cas' admirers?"  


Dean raised an eyebrow, confused, "What?"  


"Apparently," the guard started, "Miss Jo has been spreading your love story all over town. The folks here have been concerned about the crowned Prince's true love and wanted to show they were thinking of him and hoping that he was going to get better."  


Dean smiled at the presents, his heart filling with joy.  


"We should do something nice for them, to thank them. I think..." Dean hesitated before catching Benny's eye, "I think that Cas would want to thank them."  


"I reckon he would. You'll have to come up with something once he wakes up."  


"Yeah," Dean agreed, smiling once again at the knowledge his mate was waking up soon, "We will."  


\--  


"D-" a raspy voice spoke up, blue eyes searching the face next to him.  


"Cas," Dean replied, his hand cupping the other man's face, "I'm here."  


Cas smiled into the other man's palm, rubbing his cheek against the calloused skin.  


"Did we...make it?" Cas spoke slowly, coughing halfway through his sentence.  


Dean nodded, smiling brightly, refusing to take his eyes off the beautiful man before him, "Yeah, we did."  


Cas nodded, "Good."  


He squeezed Dean's hand, before rasping out, "I love you."  


Dean kissed the other man's lips softly, replying back, "I love you too."  


Several feet behind them, Ellen turned to Benny and whispered, "Ah. Now I see what you mean."  


Benny smirked at the reply and turned to Bobby.  


"You still got your concerns as well?"  


"Of course," Bobby immediately answered, "But, I trust Dean. And honestly, between us: I was hoping that he'd find him. That boy needs more good things in his life."  


"Don't worry, Bobby," Benny spoke as they watched Dean laugh at something Cas had rasped out, while Cas looked pleased with himself, "Cas is the best thing that could have ever happened to him."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew!! We're getting closer to the end! Unfortunately, I am not getting any less busy in the next month. :( But, I promise I am slowly, but surely, working on getting out chapter as fast as I can!
> 
> I have not forgotten about this story and it WILL be finished! I just can't promise any exact dates for when the next chapter will be out.
> 
> So, please forgive me, in advanced. 
> 
> I love you all and I'm so grateful for your comments and kudos!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look! 
> 
> Words!
> 
> To try and make you happy, I gave you extra...plus smut.
> 
> Enjoy! ;)
> 
> (p.s. - please forgive me of any mistakes. :) xo)

"So," Bobby spoke, glaring at the bed-ridden man in front of him, "You're the boy that went up and stole our prince's heart, are ya?"  


"Yes sir," Cas replied seriously, before thoughtfully adding, "Although, with all due respect, I think that he was the one who stole my heart first."  


"Huh," Bobby grunted, scratching the top of his head as he glanced over at Dean who was staring at Cas with doe eyes.  


At a lack of reaction, other than Bobby's near permanent scowl, Cas looked up at Dean in hesitation, not entirely sure how he should act around the crotchety old man.  


After all, he didn't need this man's approval, Dean was about to become King.  


But, Dean talked about this man as a father figure in his life, and that was someone Cas desperately wanted to impress.  


Dean, catching his lover's discomfort, coughed awkwardly before he sat up straight and asked, "So, how've things been since I've left?"  


"Good, considering," the older man answered, his eyes narrowing at the Prince.  


"Considering?" Dean asked confused, grabbing Cas' hand and intertwining their fingers, "What do you mean?"  


Bobby, who was watching the exchange replied a little more softly, "Son, you've been gone for half a year."  


"Wh-what?" Dean asked, eyes bulging slightly, as he looked in between Cas and Bobby, completely bewildered, "There's no way! It's only been two months, top."  


"And I'm telling ya, it's been six," Bobby insisted.  


Dean wagged his finger accusingly, "You're yanking my chain."  


"Boy," Bobby growled, "What reason would I have to pull you along? I'm a knight and one of your damn advisors. Am I the type to pull pranks and string the Prince along to get my kicks?"  


Dean's shoulders fell and he muttered chastened, "No Bobby. Sorry Bobby."  


"Hell, Dean," Bobby continued, "we were talking about sending out troops to try and find your dumb ass and bring ya back. Your coronation is next month."  


"How did that even happen?" Dean sat back in his seat, asking aloud, his mind reeling in confusion, "I mean, we couldn't have been in that castle for more than two weeks. Where the hell did six months go?"  


"I've suspected this was the case, but I never had any way to confirm it before," Cas spoke up from his seat.  


The other men turned to look at him, waiting for further clarification.  


Realizing they were waiting for him to speak, he continued, "As a part of the curse, it appears time moved differently in the castle than it did out side of it. I would have to look at some specifics and do some calculations, but I believe that for every day that has passed by within the cursed walls, three days had already passed by beyond."  


Dean gaped at Cas, "How?" the same time Bobby blurted, " _Balls_."  


"Fairly simple," Cas answered with a shrug, ignoring Bobby's exclamation and focused on Dean's question, "when creating a long term, wide spread spell like that, you can place time constraints and rules within the parameters of the creation."  


"Why would you want to?" Bobby asked gruffly, scratching the top of his head.  


Cas looked up, surprised Bobby was engaging with him and quickly answered, "There's many reasons. It could allow the caster to strengthen the spell if time outside is quickened. Several have used the spell when hiding from someone. They hide away for a free weeks, and months have passed, giving them a chance to roam free again, usually without fear of reprieve from whatever they were originally hiding from.  


"In this case, I suspect _Dick_ ," Dean growled at the mention of there Leviathan's name, squeezing onto his lover's hand tighter, surprisingly Bobby by his fierceness, while Cas continued speaking as though nothing out of the ordinary had just happened, "had an idea of how stubborn a dragon can be. When we put our minds to something, we stick with that decision through death.  


"I believe that _he_ suspected that the quicker time moved, the faster the dragon race would be killed off. Everyone I would have known would die quicker, and my people would be threatened into extinction. While the idea of my choices bringing my own death does not concern me, my choices bringing the death and destruction of my people I find quite upsetting."  


Dean frowned, his mind churning through Cas' explanation, a twisted feeling sinking in his gut, "So you don't have any self preservation at all?"  


"I didn't before, no," Cas answered truthfully, catching Dean's eye before he further clarified, "Now that I have a mate, things are different. Every decision I make concerns my future with my mate and our intended family."  


"Hang on, though," Dean started, ignoring the intended family part (shit...is Cas thinking about kids already?) and instead thought back through the past several days, "What about when we were back at the castle, fighting the Leviathans? Where does that fall on your spectrum?"  


Silence filled the room.  


"Cas," Dean growled warningly.  


Cas answered with a sigh, "The likelihood of all us making it out alive was slim. I guessed what our chances would be and figured out which path would secure our best chance for survival."  


"You mean you figured out which path would secure my best chance for survival," Dean clarified flatly.  


"Does it matter?" The dragon asked in a huff, "We're all alive."  


"Did you know?" Dean asked.  


Cas continued speaking, pretending as though he hadn't heard him, "Clearly, I assessed our situation accurately, as we all came out alive..."  


"Did you know that you'd get sick eating that monster?" Dean asked louder.  


"... Honestly, I'm pleased with how these results turned out and I think you should be too..."  


"Cas!"  


The blue eyed dragon closed his mouth, looking up at his green eyed mate.  


Dean took a couple of deep breaths before gritting through his teeth, "Did you know that you were swallowing poison?"  


Cas huffed, throwing his arms in the air as he exclaimed, "Of course I knew! How could I not? That's one of the first things you learn when you're born. _Leviathans are poisonous. Don't get to close. Don't let their black blood get into your own stream. They are enemy number one._ This was drilled into my brain before I had even learned how to fly. I knew exactly what I was getting into..."  


"What the hell, Cas?" Dean shouted, jumping from his seat and knocking his chair to the ground with a loud smack, "How could you...?"  


"How could I?" Cas answered, his voice dangerously low, "You are my mate. And I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. Even sacrifice myself."  


They stared at each other, breathing deeply as Cas' words sunk in.  


"No."  


Cas raised an eyebrow, " _No?_ "  


Dean nodded, pursuing his lips and repeated, "I don't accept that. I forbid you from ever pulling a stunt like that again."  


Cas laughed coldly, "You _forbid_ me?"  


"Yeah, I do," Dean answered seriously, "Like hell I'm ever going to let you hurt yourself in my watch. From here on out you are no longer allowed to make decisions that could hurt yourself in any way."  


"I find out amusing that you seem to believe you can allow me to so anything," Cas answered steadily, his voice something anything but amused.  


"I'm about to become King," Dean reminded him standing up straight, his shoulders back and had held high, "You have to follow my commands."  


Cas sat up, his own shoulders brought back and chest puffed out, mimicking Dean's posture from his seated spot on the make-shift hospital bed, "You are not my King. Any commands of yours that I follow are purely out of the respect I have for you. We are equals in this relationship and you have no extra powers over me, simply because of your title. You would do well to remember that."  


"You are my mate..."  


"Yes," Castiel interrupted, "I am yours and you are mine. I would not ask you not to risk yourself to save me. I don't like the idea of you being hurt for my sake, but you would not be the man I fell in love with if you didn't try. Do not ask me to deny my nature of putting you first as you have done the same with me."  


Dean's features warred with itself as he tried to decide if he needed to stand his ground or accept defeat.  


Cas had a point, there was no denying that.  


Hadn't that been Dean's mindset this entire time? Put Cas' life above his own?  


How could he expect Cas not to do the same thing that he'd been doing this entire time?  


He opened his mouth, his mind racing to try and this of an answer, an acceptable justification other than ' _because I said so_ ' for why he was allowed this privilege while Castiel was not, when he was saved by an interruption.  


"Damn, Cas. Those are some mighty wings you have there."  


Both Dean and Cas' heads snapped towards the doorway, looking at Benny who was staring at Cas, an eyebrow raised. Bobby was off to his side, eyes wide and eyebrows high on his forehead, having been completely forgotten as their argument played out.  


Slowly they both turned back to look behind Cas' shoulders.  


Despite him still wearing his bracelet etched deep with the Enochian carvings that casted the spell to effectively hide his dragon features from the world, his wings were sticking straight out behind him, poised aggressively, as though he were preparing for a fight.  


Dean blinked several times, examining the shimmering blues run down his almost black feathers as the sunlight bounced off of them.  


The feathers were puffed out, causing the edges to spike and flare off into jagged spears. He wondered if they would prick his finger if he reached out to poke one of the pointed tips.  


He focused back on Cas who was looking behind him, his face a mixture of surprise and exasperation.  


Cas closed his eyes, inhaling deeply and rolling back his shoulders before the two appendages slowly flickered out of sight once again.  


Dean couldn't help but feel a pang of loss, already missing seeing the beautiful additions to his lover's back. He couldn't wait to get Castiel alone with him so he could take the bracelet off (along with everything else) and re-familiarize himself with his mate's body.  


"My apologies," Cas spoke softly, turning towards Bobby and Benny, both whom were watching the dragon carefully, caution in their eyes, "Sometimes my emotions get the better of me and my true form becomes more powerful than the spell concealing my features. I am sorry you had to witness that. Dean is being particularly incorrigible this afternoon."  


"Hey!" Dean started, half in honest protest, half because he knew he would be expected to argue back.  


Cas raised an eyebrow, daring him to continue arguing when they both knew he was right.  


"You ain't gonna shift into one of them full on dragons now, are ya?" Bobby questioned cautiously, still unsure how the whole " _dragon_ "-thing worked.  


"No," Cas answered, turning back to clarify for the other man, "I can't accidently shift into my full form. I must consciously intertwine my mind and body together in order to make the change. The worst thing I could do now would be for my wings to show."  


"So," Bobby stretched out, twirling his words through his mind before asking, "How does the whole different forms thing work?"  


"Just as a werewolf or skin walker, a dragon has the ability to change into multiple forms. One form that is more human-like in nature and the second form resembling a type of beast," he explained patiently, much like he had when first explaining the same thing to Dean when he'd first found out.  


"Do all dragons do that?" Bobby wondered, taking a few steps forward as he watched Cas with interest.  


"Yes."  


Bobby hummed, nodding absent-mindedly as he thought through the information he'd been given.  


"And you're the lost prince?" he half asked, half declared, already knowing the answer.  


"I am," Castiel responded, shooting him a small smile.  


Bobby huffed as he abruptly turned and grabbed a chair from the side table, pulling it forward with a loud screech and plopped himself right down onto it.  


He leaned back, folding his arms together and requested, "I think you should start from the beginning."  


Dean raised an eyebrow, leaning forward to say something when Bobby discreetly shook his head in his direction.  


He kept his mouth closed, unsure what was going on.  


He had gotten together with Bobby that morning and told him the entire story.  


Why did he want to hear it again?  


Dean walked over to pick up the chair he had knocked down earlier, feeling slightly self-conscious as he did so, feeling like a kid who was just overcoming a temper tantrum he'd thrown, and brought it back over to sit next to Cas.  


He held out his hand, reaching for Cas' in habit, only to stop short at the last moment, hovering a few inches to the side, unsure if he should proceed.  


Was Cas still pissed at him? Would he even want to hold his hand?  


They had been interrupted before they could resolve their issue or come up with a conclusion. Dean himself still felt angry when he thought of the idea of Cas sacrificing himself to save him.  


He wasn't worth that.  


Cas had to still be angry about it too. There was no way he wasn't.  


So what did that mean for them?  


Noticing his hesitation, Cas reached out the rest of the way, intertwining their fingers together and squeezing tight, to reassure Dean that he did want to hold his hand, that this was not the end for them, and that to Cas, Dean was worth everything.  


Dean's shoulders relaxed, grateful that his mate wasn't holding a grudge against him for their argument.  


He held in a chuckle when Cas shot him a dark look, reminding him that their conflict was far from over and that they would resolve it eventually, before he turned back to Bobby and began his story.  


Cas started from the beginning, relaying how the dragons used to have a great and prosperous kingdom. He told Bobby about the deal they had made with the humans, and how Dick was the one the humans brought forth, claiming he was the ' _best humanity had to offer_ '.  


He told him about getting to know Dick, and how he slowly learned that this wasn't a man at all, but a monster.  


He described how it felt when his family was killed in front of him, and how devastated he was to be taken away and locked up in the dark castle, only hearing news when he was told about his family and friends being caught and forced into captivity and how his race was rapidly being slaughtered.  


He explained that he held through, wondering if it would ever end, when he overheard the screams of a child.  


Cas paused, chewing on his lower lip before admitting, "I didn't think it was real, at first. Dick used to try and play illusions to draw me out, to entice me to attempt to escape. But the louder I heard the shrieking, the harder it was to ignore. When I went outside, and saw a small boy being dragged by two men whose hearts were as black as the soot on the hems of their pants, I reacted without thinking.  


"I knew that I appeared more threatening in my full shift than I do when I simply appear human. I quickly switched forms and attacked, doing everything within my power to save the little boy."  


Cas looked down, smiling at his lap before he spoke reverently, "That little boy, who I later found out was my little prince, was my saving grace. He saved me just as much as I was able to save him."  


He licked his lips and continued, "When his Father came at the end of the week..."  


"I was only there for a couple of days, Cas, not a week," Dean interrupted confused.  


Cas shook his head, sadly, "Remember? Time changes differently behind the castle walls. I had always suspected, but never had any way of figuring out if that truly was the case. When your father came for you, he confirmed that for him, he'd been searching through the forests for almost a full week before he'd stumbled across the castle."  


Dean gaped at the admission, not entirely sure what he should do with this information.  


His dad had searched a full week for him?  


"He did," Bobby confirmed quietly, "He used to stay up late a at night, tortured as he thought of you lost, alone and starving for a week as he searched to find you. It was why he wanted you to become the best at everything. He didn't want you to have to depend on anyone, just in case he failed you again."  


"Oh dad," Dean whispered, slumping down further in his seat.  


He had no idea his dad had felt that way. Now it made more sense why he pushed him so hard to learn and master everything he could.  


"That's why he didn't like me talking about the lost Prince," he spoke suddenly, looking towards Bobby for confirmation.  


Bobby nodded, "He wondered what horrors you had gone through that forced your mind to create a story where you lived in a fantasy world. Every time you mentioned it, you reminded him of one of the worst weeks of his life."  


Dean rubbed a hand down his cheek, feeling his eyes watering as he thought back to how angry his dad was at him whenever he so much breathed Cas' name.  


Cas squeezed his hand in comfort and continued speaking, giving Dean a slight moments break, waiting for the next bombshell that would be laid on him.  


He didn't have to wait long.  


"When your father came, he was suspicious of me, understandably so. However, once he learned who I was, I saw temptation in his eyes. I knew that he wanted to try and save me, to claim me as a prize as most people do. So, I told him the truth about the monster caging me in. I said he was jealous and vindictive and that it would be incredibly difficult to escape for two grown men, nearly impossible when those men had a child to worry about. I gave the King an ultimatum: he could save only one, me or his son.  


"There was no hesitation. He would save his son, and leave me behind."  


Dean closed his eyes and took a deep breath, grateful when Cas chose not to linger on those words for longer than a mere moment before pushing forward to the next part of the story.  


"I knew it would be tricky to get them both out. The Leviathans don't like to let people leave from their grasp. But, I knew that if they too were presented with a choice, unlike the King, they would always choose me. So, I created a distraction. I ran to the opposite side of the castle grounds, turned into my fully shifted form, and I made a valiant attempt to escape.  


"Of course, I knew that I would not escape. I only needed to keep them preoccupied with me long enough to save the young Prince and his father. So I fought harder than I had ever fought before, clearing my mind of everything but one thing: my little Prince."  


Dean smiled shyly as Cas continued telling their story. By this point, several more people had come into the room, and sat down to listen to their tale. Joining Bobby and Benny (who of course already knew this part of the story, seeing as he was there), was Ellen, Jo, Pam, and several random nurses who had been filtering in and out and just decided to stay when they got sucked into the tale.  


"Hang on," Jo interrupted, her eyes flicking from one person to another, "So, let me get this straight. You're not human?"  


"I am not," Cas confirmed, his façade seemingly calm despite the fact that Dean knew he had to be terrified inside.  


Dean hoped that the people in this room would be as open and accepting as he had portrayed them to be.  


"So, you are...?" She prompted.  


"A dragon."  


There were a couple of gasps and a few murmurings spread through out the room.  


Cas' shoulders dropped as he explained "Please do not confuse me with the monsters from your fairytales. When the curse was placed upon me, a part of it was too sully the name of the dragon, and to make them appear as though they are monsters. Truly, we are as kind and open as humans.  


"That's not too say there aren't evil dragons roaming the earth," he quickly added, "just as there are wicked humans, so is the same with dragons. However, the majority of us are happy to be around other species."  


"Man, that is so bad-ass," Jo replied happily, smiling at the others around the room.  


A few nurses nodded along, agreeing with Jo's sentiment, clearly deciding that Cas' race as a dragon did not affect their opinion on him as a being.  


Dean let out a sigh of relief.  


"So, go on," Ellen urged, speaking up from her place next to her daughter, "Tell us what happened next."  


"Oh, yes, right. Of course," Cas stumbled, surprised at the positive feedback he was receiving, "Well, years passed and I constantly pulled on that memory to draw in more strength to overcome any challenges that came my way. Several valiant knights came and died heroic deaths, others I honestly wasn't too sad to see them go. I had decided though that enough was enough and I stopped allowing people to come into the castle walls, in hopes that if I did not accept them, then their lives would be spared.  


"Imagine my surprise when three young, handsome men came to my door, one of them introducing himself as the little boy I'd met so many years before, my source of strength, my little Prince."  


Cas explained how humorous it was to have Bart and Dean fight over him, but how it was heart-wrenching to him, knowing he'd never be able to accept anyone.  


"At that point," he admitted softly, "I truly believed I would never leave those castle walls. My mind was constantly on edge, flicking in between feeling ecstatic that Dean had returned and devastated that there was a chance that I would not be so lucky as to save him a second time."  


Dean reached forward with his free hand, running his thumb along Castiel's jaw before cupping his face, and staring into his eyes, trying to affirm wordlessly that he was there, they were both alive, and now they were both safe.  


Cas hummed, smiling as he closed his eyes and pressed his face into the touch, breathing in deeply.  


They stayed there for a fleeting moment, before Cas returned to telling the next part.  


"I told him to leave, planning on how I could create a distraction, even greater than the first one, to ensure his safety. But before I could figure anything out, their third companion had turned on Dean, challenging him to a coward's duel, and attacking him while he was unarmed and unprepared."  


There was a collective gasp throughout the room, several frowns and scowling faces scanning Dean's body to look for proof of any evidence this attack on their believed Prince had happened.  


"Fortunately," Cas said, turning to look at Dean's burly personal guard and shooting him a secret smile, "Benny and I were able to intervene before too much damage happened."  


"What happened to third man?" a young, pretty blonde nurse asked, leaning forward captivated in the story.  


Dean caught Benny's stricken eyes, neither of them knowing how to handle that question.  


Should they admit they sent Bart out to his death? How would his people look at him for having done so? Would they think he was an oppressive King? One who was a tyrant because he called for an execution before any form of trial could be given? Would they understand? Would they stand by his decision?  


His mouth opened and closed a couple of times, as his mind raced to think of a suitable answer he could give in response.  


Cas spoke once again before Dean had a chance to think of anything.  


"Lord Batholomew was lost during the fight to escape the castle," he answered simply, taking a brief moment of silence for his death to sink in, before moving back to his story.  


Dean took a second to nod, not listening to Castiel's words as he admired how quick-thinking his mate was.  


He was smart, thoughtful, kind, well-spoken...  


Really, he was everything Dean could have possibly hoped for.  


It dawned on him that he and Cas had never talked about what the dragon would do once he arrived to the castle.  


Would he want to travel back to his only family?  


Would he stay and be a part of Dean's council?  


Dean looked at his lovingly the people in the room stared at Cas, eagerly soaking in his words.  


No, Cas wouldn't do good on a council, sitting in a stuffy room in the back.  


He's been locked away for too long.  


He should be out, among the people.  


Taking. Listening. Just being.  


He imagined Cas, as he had done several times before already, sitting at his side, as his Queen.  


Dean smiled at the image, his heart swelling with pride.  


_Of course_ Cas should be his Queen. There was no other job worthy for him.  


He looked down at their interwoven hands, glancing at their ringless fingers.  


Sure, they were already mated, but they needed to do more.  


Dean needed Cas, more than air or water, or even pie!  


(Damn, he loved a good pie)  


His life just want as complete, not nearly as fulfilling, unless Cas was standing at his side.  


He thought back to their previous argument. Although he stood firm with what he'd said, he imagined giving into Cas' point. He didn't want to have unreasonable amounts of power over the man he loved.  


He wanted to be equals.  


Officially.  


Drawing back to the beginning, he knew there was only one conclusion, an end (or more fittingly: a beginning) that would be appropriate for them.  


He was going to propose to Cas.  


Smiling brightly at his new plan, he tuned back on to Cas who had just finished explaining how they'd escaped and how he'd fallen sick because of what he'd done.  


Deciding to swallow his pride and take the plunge, Dean spoke up, "Cas saved my life that day. Both mine and Benny's. Without his quick thinking and sacrifice, I would be dead. And although I don't like the idea of him getting hurt, I'm so grateful he was there for me."  


Cas smiled as the others in the room awed, knowing that Dean admitting this was a big deal.  


He leaned in, resting his forehead against the other's and whispered, "I love you."  


Cas smiled brightly and spoke back, "I love you too, my little Prince."  


They heard some sniffling throughout the room and slowly turned their heads to see most people in the room were watching them with smiles on their lips and tears in their eyes.  


Dean blushed at their open gaping and coughed awkwardly, motioning for Cas to finish up.  


Cas nodded and obliged, "After that, I'm told that Dean and Benny carried me here, where I was treated by the best doctors your kingdom had to offer. And, here we are."  


Bobby shot Dean a look, giving him a simple nod of approval.  


Dean had to stop himself for fist pumping the air.  


With Bobby on his side, there was nothing standing in his way of asking Cas to be his.  


\--  


A few more days passed, Cas' injuries slowly healing. He had several people stop to visit, even a few of the townspeople who had heard their love story in the tavern (Dean has no clue how their story got out or was spread, but he wasn't planning on complaining with the results) who wanted to wish him well with his recovery.  


Castiel was touched with this display of love from the people who lived in Dean's kingdom. He repeatedly thanked Dean for letting him experience it and bringing him back, telling him that his people truly represented their future King.  


Finally, the day came when they packed up their stuff to head back to the castle.  


"Sam is anxious to see you," Bobby told Dean.  


Dean always nodded his head in response, not sure what he should reply.  


Did Sam want to see him?  


They didn't exactly leave on great parting terms.  


The carriages were packed, horses saddled, and people ready to go.  


Dean waited restlessly, ready to go home, as Cas slowly left the roadhouse, stopping at every person he passed to thank them personally for something they'd done for him.  


"Thank you Mindy, for your help in my recovery. It was lovely seeing your smile each and every night."  


A pretty blonde blushed as she shook Cas' hand, her smile involuntarily shining brighter as she nodded her head enthusiastically.  


"It was a pleasure, Sir," she answered back.  


"And you," Cas continued, turning to the next nurse, a busty brunette with curls down to the top of her butt, "Lilah, I can't thank you enough for time. I'm sure it wasn't easy working night after night, especially when you have to leave your baby at home, but I truly do appreciate you."  


Lilah giggled, batting her eyelashes at the handsome Prince, "Anything for you, Sir."  


Cas turned down the line, thanking a few more before he got to Pam.  


"Dr. Barnes," Cas started, reaching out to grab her hand and hold it in his own, "I can't thank you enough."  


She glanced over at Dean nervously before smiling softly and shrugging, "Just doing my job."  


"Regardless," Cas assured her, "Missouri told me about your quick thinking and dedication. Without you, I would not have survived. I owe my life to you, and I will forever be grateful."  


Pam blushed, "I don't know if I'd go that far..."  


"I would," Cas answered seriously, "Thank you."  


He bent down, kissing her cheek lightly before moving onto the next group.  


Her smile slowly faded from her face as Dean stood awkwardly in front of her, not entirely sure what he should say or how he should act.  


He was the Prince! He shouldn't have to apologize for his behavior.  


But Cas...  


Cas made him want to be better.  


So, he shot an apologetic smile, shoving his hands into his pockets, and spoke softly, "Thanks."  


Pam quirked a small smile in return, nodding her head in acceptance, "It was my pleasure, Your Highness. You take good care of that boy now."  


Dean's smile became more sincere as he replied, "I will ma'am. I promise."  


He walked forward, just as Jo was pulling Cas into a tight hug.  


Over the past several days, he had formed some sort of kinship with the young spitfire blonde. Cas smiled as she buried her head into his neck and assured her, "You can come visit me. Anytime. Both you and your mother."  


He added the last part, glancing up at Ellen who nodded in response, "Damn straight we will. Don't think you can get rid of us that easily." 

"Yeah," Jo added, poking Cas in his ribs, "you still gotta show me your dragon form."  


Cas chuckled, kissing Jo on the top of her hair.  


"One day," he promised, whispering into the blonde stands, adding, "and thank you for all you've done."  


Dean watched the interaction, and waited for Cas to finish his goodbyes.  


He walked him over to the carriage, holding his elbow as he stepped up into the cabin, waving good-bye to the people.  


Yeah, this man was made to be Queen.  


Once the carriage door was closed, silencing the cheers and chants being shouted outside their window, Dean leaned forward and grabbed Cas by his shirt, pulling him close to his body and smashing his lips against Cas' plush pink ones.  


Cas let out a small whelp in surprise, but quickly threw himself in the kiss, matching Dean's enthusiasm, and possibly exceeding it.  


Their hands pawed at each other's clothes, fisting the fabric in their fingers, but not quite going far enough to tear off the items in the small compartment they sat in.  


Their bodies gravitated closer to one another, until Cas was straddling Dean's lap, one hand cupping the back of Dean's neck and the other holding a fistful of his light colored hair.  


Dean had given up his hold on the fabric of Castiel's clothes in favor of slipping his fingers beneath to have direct contact to the man's warm skin.  


Their frantic kisses slowed down, until they were kissing each other lazily, feeling their lips moving against the other's, with the occasional tongue flicking out, before quickly retracting into its own mouth.  


Their lips parted, both men panting slightly as their lips rested just a few inches apart, foreheads pressing together.  


"That was unexpected," Cas stated, with a slight chuckle, "But highly enjoyable. What was the occasion?"  


"I love you," Dean responded, having no other reason.  


Cas' smile shone brightly, "Well, you're more than welcome to kiss me like that anytime you're feeling an over abbundance of love."  


Dean chuckled, leaning back in to nibble on Cas' lower lip, before whispering into his mouth, "If that was the case, then I wouldn't ever stop kissing you."  


"I would be amenable to that," Cas replied, before returning the kiss.  


They stayed that way, their lips moving slowly, feeling each nerve as it tingled to the sensation.  


The next several days were full of rest and long make out sessions.  


Dean's entire body ached with need, desperately wanting to take his mate and worship his body.  


However, he wasn't willing to do so surrounded by his entire army, while traveling in a carriage, with his mate still recovering his strength.  


No.  


He was going to do this right.  


He would take Cas back to the castle and bring him up to him room.  


There he would lay him back on the bed, slowly peeling of each piece of fabric, until his flushed skin was all that was left.  


He'd kiss each inch of skin, focusing on his chest and neck the most.  


Perhaps he'd lick, or even suck on the man's nipples, watching him begin to squirm and writhe beneath his fingertips.  


He reach his hand back to grab a handful of feathers, and pull him closer.  


Maybe he'd soak his fingers in his oil, dropping down his back, covering his body until it's slick, and together their bodies would slide together, as he lined up...  


"Your Highness?"  


Dean jumped in place, looking up at the person who interrupted his fantasy.  


One of the soldiers stood at attention, nervous at having to be the one to intrude.  


"Hm?" Dean asked, rubbing the side of his face as he tried to dispel the images still taunting his mind.  


Cas was sleeping next to him, curled beneath his arm, his warm body pressed up against his side.  


The contract certainly wasn't helping Dean's hard on, pressing against the front of his pants.  


"We're arriving at the gates, Sir," the young soldier told him nervously, "Sir Robert thought you would want to be informed."  


Dean sighed, "Uh, finally."  


He sat straight, stretching his arms high above his head, "What's your name, kid?"  


The soldier gaped for a moment, before coming to himself and quickly answered, "Jake, Sir."  


Dean nodded, "Good work, Jake. Let Bobby know Cas and I will be having dinner in my chambers this evening. We'll commence meetings first thing in the morning."  


"Yes, Sir," Jake answered, a light blush on his face that the Prince knew his name personally, "of course, Sir. I'll do it right away."  


"Please do," Dean answered amused as Jake bowed deeply, stumbling out of the carriage door.  


"It does not surprise me that everyone is as enamored with you, the same I was the moment we first met."  


Dean smiled down at Cas, who was looking up at him from below, his eyes squinting as he tried to adjust from sleeping to bring awake.  


"What can I say?" Dean teased, winking down at the handsome man in his lap, "I'm a charming man."  


"That you most certainly are," Cas agreed, pushing himself up and suppressing a large yawn, "We're going to have to work on your humility, though."  


Dean laughed, leaning out the window to glance out at his castle grounds. Sure enough, they had just passed the gates and were heading into the center.  


Dean waved Cas over, pointing out his window to try and point out all the things they could do and places they would go.  


"On the side of the castle is where we keep our gardens. I know how much you loved yours, so I'm sure that you'll want to check that out first. Back behind are some woods that lead to that river/lake i was telling you about. Over there is where we keep our horses, and just beyond that is where the soldiers train. I often go out to train with them."  


Dean looked over at Cas and winked, patting his belly, "Gotta stay fit."  


"I'm sure there are other ways we could keep you in shape," Cas replied seriously, before turning his head to look at Dean, his s eyes narrowing in on his body as he licked his lips.  


Dean gulped, his softened cock, twitching as it stared to harden at the thought.  


"What did you have in mind?" Dean asked, trying to seem as though he were uncaring or unconcerned with the other man's answer.  


Cas slid over on the seat, placing his hand high on Dean's thigh, tantalizing the skin beneath.  


He leaned forward, and whispered in his ear, "I was thinking you could take me to your bed, climb on top of me, and pound into me so hard, you can't even remember your own kingdom's name."  


A loud knock pounded on the side of the carriage, interrupting Dean's whimpers, desperate to start Cas' excersize right then.  


"Damn it," he muttered under his breath, turning to open the door, while Cas chuckled on the seat next to him.  


"What?" Dean growled to the soldier, which turned out to be poor Jake, surprised at Dean's irritation directed towards him.  


"We-we're here, Your Highness," Jake stumbled.  


"Yeah, yeah," Dean waved him off, "Tell Bobby we'll be right out."  


Jake nodded, bowing low once again, before skittering off.  


Dean turned back to Cas, only to meet a frown on his face.  


"That wasn't very polite, Dean," Cas scolded him.  


Dean rolled his eyes, "Neither was him interrupting you from telling me what you want me to do to you when we finally have a moment alone."  


Cas' eyes twinkled as he replied, "It is a shame I couldn't tell you."  


He leaned forward, opening the door to let himself out, looking back to quickly add, "Guess you'll just have to figure it out."  


Dean groaned, both in pleasure (at the excitement of the game: he would figure out what Cas wanted) and pain (loathing that he had to wait).  


He hopped out of the cabin behind his lover, placing his hand on his shoulder as he glanced around to assess the situation.  


As far as he could tell, most everything was under control.  


He steered Cas along the path, heading towards the castle doors where he saw Bobby directing the soldiers where to go.  


"Bobby!" he called out, getting the older man's attention.  


Bobby looked up, nodding at Dean, before straightening before him, being an example for the others around him. The other young soldiers quickly stood to attention, not sure if they should continue their tasks or stop to listen to their future King.  


"Dismissed to your tasks," Dean ordered, smirking slightly as he watched the young soldiers blunder around to try and complete their duties.  


"Jake tell ya we're heading up to my room?" Dean asked Bobby when he was satisfied things were being done.  


"That he did, Prince," Bobby answered, looking down at his papers, "I'll have some food sent up to ya 'round dinner time. You two gonna be okay?"  


"Don't worry about us Bobby," Dean smiled cheekily, "We'll figure out some way to entertain ourselves."  


Both Cas (who had previously been busy looking around the grounds, trying to see everything for himself) and Bobby rolled their eyes.  


Dean chuckled to himself, pleased at their reactions.  


He glanced around, seeing Benny helping to unload one of the trailers and yelled out, "Hey! Benny!"  


Benny looked up, squinting to block out the sunlight and shouted back, "Yes, Your Highness?"  


"Go home!" Dean ordered, "Now!"  


Benny held up his hands in a placating motion and smiled brightly, "Alright!"  


He waved goodbye to the other men, jogging past Dean and Cas, "I'll see you both tomorrow."  


"Not too early, Benny!" Dean answered, shaking his finger at the other man, "I want you to spend some time with your wife."  


"Yes sir!" Benny answered, waving a mock salute at Dean before jogging off.  


"I would like to meet his wife one day," Cas said thoughtfully, watching Benny's retreating figure in the distance.  


"Absolutely," Dean promised, "I'll have to take you around to everyone. Show you off to the town."  


Cas turned back to Dean, smiling shyly, "I'd like that."  


Dean glanced back to Bobby, "We're gonna head up. If you need anything, try and deal with it until tomorrow."  


Bobby waved him off, indicating that he had it, so Dean happily grabbed Cas' hand and pulled him towards the castle.  


Before they reached the steps, he heard someone call out his name.  


"Dean?!"  


Dean looked up to see Sam standing at the top of the stairs, eyes wide and mouth opened.  


"Sammy," Dean replied breathlessly, taking in the sight of his not-so-little brother.  


Sam rushed down the stairs, bounding his body onto Dean's and clutched him tightly into a hug.  


Dean held him back, his heart thumping in gratitude that his little brother wasn't too pissed at him like he was when he'd left.  


"I can't believe you're back," Sammy said into his shoulder, his face buried deep, not willing to let go, just quite yet.  


"You can't get rid of me that easy," Dean assured him, shooting a smile at Cas who was watching the exchange with a soft smile.  


"Sammy," Dean said, pulling back from his brother and turning him to face Cas, "I got someone I want you to meet."  


Sam's eyes blew even wider and he stuttered, "Are you...are you the Lost Prince?"  


"I suppose you could say I am," Cas confirmed, "But you are more than welcome to call me Castiel."  


"Holy shit," Sam breathed, looking at Dean for further confirmation, "You found him?"  


"I did," Dean replied happily, ruffling Sam's hair.  


It was clear just how much in shock Sam was that he didn't even protest.  


Hair sticking straight out, he glanced in between both Dean and Castiel and down to their clasped hands and demanded, "You are telling me everything. Now."  


\--  


Although Dean's original afternoon plans didn't pan out, he wasn't disappointed with how things turned out.  


He smiled as he watched Cas and Sam laugh together, eating the dinner that was sent up to Dean's room. He was grateful the two were getting along as well as they were. He couldn't imagine how miserable his life would be if the two most important people in his life: his little brother and his mate hated each other.  


Sam had taken everything quite well.  


He'd apologized to Dean for the things he said before he left and for not believing him, and Dean apologized for not trying harder to say good-bye.  


Currently, he was stuffing his face with some food, as he looked up and asked, "So, what're ya gon' do now?"  


Cas paused for a moment, hesitantly glancing over towards Dean, "I'm not sure. Although I would like to stay close to my mate."  


Dean nodded enthusiastically, reaching out to kiss the top of Cas' hands, "I'm not letting you out of my sight, Mister."  


Sam rolled his eyes, but chuckled with them and the two kissed.  


When they were finished eating, Sam wanted to stay a little longer, eager to spend as much time as he could with Dean and the Lost Prince.  


Dean shook his head, nudging his little brother out of the room, against his wishes.  


"But Deeean," Sam whined, pushing back against Dean.  


"Sam," Dean spoke seriously, narrowing his eyes at his brother, leaning in to speak quietly, "Cas and I need some alone time."  


"Why can't I just stay?" Sam begged, "I promise I'll be quiet. You won't even know I'm here!"  


Dean took a deep breath, before insisting, "Trust me, Sam. This is something you're probably not gonna wanna see."  


They stared at each other for a moment, Dean shooting him a look to try and mentally communicate what he was talking about.  


He could see the moment when the realization came to Sam, as he scrunched up his nose in disgust and replied, "Ew, Dean, gross."  


"I mean...if you really wanna stay..." Dean started with a sly smile, and a shrug.  


"Nope," Sam assured him, shaking his head as he walked backwards out of the room, Dean following him casually while Cas watched them from the side, amused.  


"I'm not gonna judge you for whatever gets your rocks off," Dean teased, holding out his hand to invite him to come back in, "You'd probably learn quite a few things."  


Sam shuddered at the thought, shooting his older brother a dirty look before storming off.  


Dean laughed as he watched his floppy haired brother run away, closing the door behind him and locking it shut.  


He didn't want any interruptions.  


He slowly turned around, his mind churning as he figured out how he could get Castiel in the mood for what he wanted to do tonight, when he was caught off guard with Cas flinging himself onto Dean, pushing him against the wooden door and latching his mouth onto his own.  


Dean stood in shock for several seconds before his mind caught up with the program and he was able to reciprocate whole-heartedly.  


Eager for more, Dean pushed Cas backwards, so he was no longer pinned, and guided his lover towards the bed, pushing him onto the plush comforter.  


He crawled up his body, their lips never parting, other than briefs moments, to catch a quick breath before picking up where they'd left off.  


Cas moaned into Dean's mouth when he lifted up his hand, sliding it against his side and behind his robes so he could touch the skin beneath the cloth.  


Cas pushed Dean back, shooting up from his spot to sit properly, before, pulling him back down to him and wrapping his legs around Dean's waist.  


Dean wasted no time at all pulling off Cas' robe, sliding down to play with the band of his underwear.  


Cas thrusted his hips up into Dean's touch, clawing at his tunic and pants, pulling them off as quickly as he could.  


"Dean, please..." Cas moaned into his mouth, eager when Dean helped to pull his pants the rest of the way off, "I need you."  


Dean nodded, his mind unable to come up with words, and hustled to tear of his underwear, thrilled when Cas lifted up his hips to do the same.  


Cas tried to grab Dean to pull him back down, but he shook his head, holding him back at arms length.  


"No, Cas," he said firmly, while still panting, "If I'm gonna have you, I want all of you."  


Cas looked back confused for a brief moment, until Dean nodded to the bracelet on his wrist.  


His features alight with understanding, Cas pulled off the bracelet and threw it across the room, the metal clinking against the hardwood floor where it landed.  


Dean sighed in happiness as he took a look at Cas' body, wings fluttering behind him and scales glistening in the candlelight filling the room.  


He opened his mouth to relay to Cas just how beautiful he was, but received a full lapful of the man himself before he could.  


Dean grunted, shifting his body so he was sitting comfortably with Cas straddling his lap, his legs wrapped tightly around him.  


Warm slick slid from Cas' body onto Dean's, making it really easy to grind their hips together, and slide their bodies up and down.  


"Now," Cas ordered.  


Dean didn't even have to clarify, but simply reached down to grab his painfully hard dick and lined it up with Cas' hole, pushing it in slowly until he was completely bottomed out.  


Cas moaned into Dean's shoulder, pressing his face right against the skin to muffle the sounds. He pressed his lips on the skin there, before nibbling the area, working his way up to Dean's neck.  


They moved their hips together, rolling them in and out until they found a good rhythm that had them both moaning, eager for more.  


Dean pulled Cas' head up, pressing their lips together until they were moving just as frantically as their bodies.  


Cas nibbled on Dean's lower lip, scratching his nails down his back, while Dean reached back and thrusted his hand into Cas' wings like he'd dreamed about before, putting the other one on Cas' hip for more leverage.  


The build-up and pressure was euphoric, and Dean shouted out, Cas's teeth still on his lip, as he felt his his orgasm rip through his body and release into Cas'.  


Cas grabbed at his shoulder, letting go of his lip and panted, "Keep going...keep going..."  


Dean kept thrusting up into Cas, shivers trembling down his spine as he felt Cas' hole clench around his already sensitive dick.  


Dean reached down his other hand, wrapping it around Cas' cock and pumping it a few times, relieved when he groaned and threw his head back, Dean's own hand covered in Cas' cum.  


They sat there, limbs tangled in each other's, both taking the moment to catch their breath.  


Cas looked up at Dean through his lashes, smiling shyly before nuzzling into the warmth on Dean's neck.  


Damn, he was perfect.  


"Marry me," Dean blurted out.  


_Shit_.  


He wasn't supposed to ask like this! There was supposed to be flowers! And candles! And a romantic dinner! Maybe by the lake where he promised they would go! Or even in the gardens, where Cas' favorite place tended to be!  


It wasn't supposed to be in bed, while the two were still naked a sweaty, covered in come and slick immediately after their orgasms.  


What was he thinking?  


Why did he have to...  


"Yes."  


Dean looked at Cas, surprised that he actually agreed.  


"Really?" he asked hesitantly, not wanting to get his hopes up.  


"Yes," Cas replied happily, kissing the side of Dean's cheek, before returning to his place nuzzled in his neck.  


"I'm going to get angry sometimes," Dean warned him, his mind still trying to wrap around the fact that his mate agreed, "I'm going to boss you around, and try to order you to do things."  


"I'd like to see you try," Cas challenged him, looking back up with a twinkle in his challenging stare.  


"If we marry, you'll be my Queen," Dean continued, pressing further to make sure Cas understands what he's getting into, "And you'll have to do all the responsibilities that comes with that."  


"I don't think that will be a problem," Cas answered, with a small laugh.  


Dean lit up, unable to hold back his grin as his heart burst to the scenes.  


"So? That's it? We're getting married?"  


Cas nodded, trailing kisses across Dean's face starting at his chin, going along his jaw, across his forehead, onto his cheek, and back down hovering over his lips before answering.  


"Yes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so a couple of things.
> 
> I think I mentioned this one before, but Cas will be considered a "Queen" in this story, because he is the husband of the King. The titles "King" and "Queen" have nothing to do with genders, and everything to do with the position being held.
> 
> Also, if you haven't noticed, I have updated the chapters above. 
> 
> That's right.
> 
> I'm predicting only one more chapter.
> 
> We're almost to the end!
> 
> The final chapter is going to be another very long one, and I can't promise that I'll get it to you anytime soon. I promise, however, that it WILL be completed, and it WILL be added as soon as I have a chance to write it. :)
> 
> Finally, you are all amazing. Truly. I'm grateful to see your kudos and read your comments whenever you choose to leave them. You are all wonderful people.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did it! It took me forever to finish, but it's done! And it's here!
> 
> Thank you so much for your patience and your willingness to stick with it through until the end!
> 
> I hope you enjoy the final chapter.
> 
> Warning: Copious amounts of fluff. :)

"I want to invite the dragons."  


Dean set down his quill, squinting at his future husband as he tried to scrutinize the situation correctly.  


"Okay," he started slowly as he scratched the stubble on his chin, "you just want an open invite or...?"  


Cas shook his head and clarified, "There are a few members specifically I want to reach out to. I'm not even sure if they're still..."  


He trailed off awkwardly, neither of them wanting to acknowledge that there was a very real possibility many of Castiel's friends and family had been killed by humans. That little word, _alive_ , was hanging over them in the room, making the atmosphere uncomfortable.  


Dean nodded encouragingly for Cas to continue and was grateful when he did.  


"I think it would do well with the liaison between humans and dragons if both species were represented at the ceremony. Perhaps if we're lucky, they may actually grow to like each other."  


Dean snorted, which warranted him a dirty look from the dark haired man sitting across from him.  


"So, how do you propose to find them?" Dean asked, leaning back in his seat and propping his feet on his table with his arms stretched back behind his head.  


Cas thought for a moment, "I have a few places I can try. I think if I start there, I should be able to get a good lead..."  


Dean shot forward, "Wait, _what_?"  


They stared each other down, before Dean finally broke and clarified, "Why do you have to be the one who goes? Can't we just send a messenger?"  


"Dean," Cas answered exasperatedly, "From what I understand, would you be comfortable sending a single human into a dragons lair?"  


Dean's shoulders dropped, "No."  


"I'll be fine," Cas reassured him, walking around the table to cup his face, "they're my family. I need to make sure they're okay."  


Dean nodded.  


He understood Cas' reasoning, but that didn't mean that he didn't like it.  


He took a deep breath, remembering that he couldn't just order Cas to do whatever he wanted to do, and nodded a second time.  


"Okay," he breathed, "okay, but you're taking Benny with you."  


Cas rolled his eyes, "I hardly think that's necessary..."  


"Just..." Dean grabbed the edge of Cas' robes and pulled him down with a satisfying yelp from the other man so he was sitting in his lap.  


He nuzzled his neck, breathing in the skin and finished, "Just humor me. Since I can't go, I'd feel better if Benny was with you."  


Cas sighed, kissing the top of Dean's head before running his fingers through his light strands of hair.  


"Of course, Dean."  


\--  


Dean lay his head on Cas' naked chest, rubbing his cheek against the smooth skin and scales.  


"I'm gonna miss you," he mumbled into the skin, his hands trailing up the other man's ribs.  


"Me too," Cas answered solemnly, humming in pleasure when Dean's fingernails scratched a long line down his skin.  


"Come back to me?" Dean asked nervously.  


He was extremely concerned that once Cas left, he wouldn't ever come back. What if he got hurt? Or worse: what if he saw the world and decided that there was something better out there for him?  


Cas propped himself up on his elbows, frowning down at Dean's face.  


"Of course I'll come back," he answered sincerely, lifting Dean's chin up so he could meet his blue eyes, "Out there, they may be my friends, my family...but you're my mate, my home. No matter where I go, or what I do, I'll always return to you."  


Dean blinked, letting the words settle into his brain, before leaning up to kiss Cas slowly.  


\--  


Dean held onto Cas tightly, refusing to let him go.  


They were standing on the castle steps, with Benny waiting at the bottom for them so the two could start their journey.  


Andrea, Benny's wife, had not been happy that he was leaving again for another dangerous mission so soon to when he returned. But, Benny was a good soldier and was standing there, ready to go.  


Dean, however, was feeling the opposite.  


"I change my mind," he grumbled, kissing the side of his lover's neck.  


"Oh do you now?" Cas replied, slightly amused.  


"Yes," he replied firmly, "You need to stay here. With me. Naked. Preferably all the time."  


"Hmm," the dragon hummed, "While tempting, I think I'm going to have to delay that until I return."  


Dean grumbled, sighing dramatically, but stepped back, his fingers still lingering against the other man's skin.  


"Be safe," he breathed, before bending down to kiss him lightly one last time.  


Cas smiled and turned to join Benny so they could leave when they heard a voice scream in the background.  


" _Wait_!" he called, the three men in front of the castle all turning to the commotion.  


Sam was running down the steps, a bag strapped around his chest, with Bobby not too far off behind that.  


He raced up to the three men, panting slightly as he declared to Castiel, "I'm coming with you!"  


Dean laughed and messed up Sam's hair, "Good one, kid."  


Sam glared at Dean and repeated again, "I'm going with Cas."  


Dean frowned when he slowly realized his little brother wasn't joking around.  


"Like hell you are," he scoffed, turning towards Bobby who had finally caught up to the group, and nodding towards Sam with an eye roll, looking for confirmation that he was being completely ridiculous.  


Bobby shook his head slightly and frowned, "I hate to do this to ya, boy, but Sam's won me over to his side."  


Dean shot the older man a betrayed look before shaking his head and speaking determinedly, "I don't care why he wants to go, he's not going."  


"Hang on," Cas spoke, holding his hand out to stop Dean from stomping back into the castle, "He did run all the way out here to catch us. We may as well listen to his reasoning."  


The Prince sighed in exasperation, rubbing his forehead before urging Sam to speak, "Alright, let's have it. Why do you want to go?"  


Slightly surprised and relieved that he was actually being given a chance to speak, Sam started, "it's not that I want to go, it's that I need to go..."  


Dean rolled his eyes, but before he could refute his statement, Sam continued.  


"Cas is going to see the dragons, right? Well, we need a representative from our kingdom to go with him. One of the purposes of your marriage of to bring together the human and dragon race. So, how can we actually bring them together, unless we have a liaison in between the two?"  


"Cas is the liaison," Dean replied simply, ready for matters to be put to rest.  


Unfortunately, Cas shook his head, "I am their Prince and your mate. I have too many biases. Sam's right. We'll need a human and a dragon to both act as liaisons for each race. Each will be able to keep in mind what's best for their race, while still being able to get along and compromise with the other. What with my duties as the queen, plus my biases, I won't be able to have enough time to research and then implement whatever compromises we want. I can certainly help, but I can't be in charge."  


Dean sighed, scratching the stubble on his chin as he conceded Cas' point.  


Visibly excited, but trying to contain himself, Sam continued, "So, since Cas can't do it, someone else needs to go with him. We want to establish a good relationship with the dragons, sooner than later, given our history in between the two races."  


"That is a wise point, Sam," Cas commented, smiling slightly as Sam preened under his praise.  


Dean huffed, not liking that this plan was making sense and gaining support of his mate.  


"Why can't Benny just do it? He's going," Dean tried, missing at Benny who had been standing at the side, quiet throughout the whole exchange.  


"Benny doesn't know a single thing about politics. He wouldn't be able to handle delicate situations correctly, and could possibly make relations in between the two races worse," Sam scoffed, before quickly turning to Benny and adding, "no offense."  


"Can't take offense to what's true, brother," Benny replied, a small, amused smirk lighting up his face.  


Sam scrunched his nose at the endearment brother, but continued pressing forward.  


"We need someone who can be diplomatic and make sure that we can keep the peace in between our people and theirs. I _have_ to go."  


"So why you?" Dean asked haughtily, not liking the feeling that they were all ganging up on him.  


Wasn't he supposed to be the King?  


Why was he even bothering listening to them speak?  


He glanced at his lover who was looking at him curiously, his head tilted to the side while his big blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight.  


Ah, right.  


That was why.  


Dean pressed again, "Why are you so convinced that it has to be you who goes? I'm not convinced you're the right person for the job."  


Sam pressed his lips together, "I know how to talk to other royalty. I'm good with other species, and can be calm in tense situations. I won't have any prejudices against their race when coming in, so I should be able to represent us fairly."  


Sam stepped forward, pleading with Dean, "Please, Dean, you know I'd be perfect for this."  


Dean shook his head, despite already knowing that Sam really would be perfect for the position.  


"It's too dangerous. I can't send my little brother, who is the next in line for the throne, by the way, leave to enter a possibly hostile environment."  


"You're letting Cas go," Sam shot back.  


Dean frowned, "I'm not letting Cas go. If it were up to me, he wouldn't ever leave the castle grounds."  


Cas merely rolled his eyes, while Dean continued, "As of now, I am technically not his King. If he wants to leave, I have to let him."  


Dean pointed his finger in Sam's face, much to the younger boy's annoyance, "You, on the other hand, are my responsibility, and I say no."  


"What do you think, Bobby?" Castiel spoke up, turning everyone's attention to him and the older advisor, "I agree that this is a good idea, but is Sam the best person for this job?"  


Bobby shot an apologetic look at Dean, "I think he is. There're others that may be more qualified, but they hate dragons with a fiery passion. You'll want someone there who won't start any fights. Sam has grown up in the castle and had lessons on diplomacy, plus practice while sitting in court. I reckon he's the best we got."  


Dean scowled, "He's not going alone."  


Cas frowned in reply, "He won't be alone. He'll be with me and Benny."  


"And who's gonna protect him, huh? If we're sending him, we're sending an army to protect him as well."  


Cas shook his head, "Absolutely not. We don't want the dragons thinking we're coming to start a war. Benny will be sufficient enough."  


"Then Sam's not going," Dean concluded.  


"I can take care of myself," Sam argued.  


"Absolutely not." "Hell no." "Sorry, brother."  


Sam frowned at the three voices of Bobby, Dean, and Benny which just shot him down.  


"I can watch both Sam and Castiel at the same time, your Highness," Benny reminded Dean cautiously.  


"And, need I remind you that I'm a dragon?" Cas shot back, "I technically don't need a guard anyway. The only reason Benny is coming with me is to make you feel better."  


"I don't like this," he replied stubbornly, folding his arms tightly across his chest.  


Cas glanced at Sam before stepping forward, placing his hands on Dean's biceps, lighting brushing the skin up and down.  


"I know," he answered sympathetically, "but we both know you know this is a great idea."  


"But he's just a kid," Dean insisted.  


Cas shook his head sadly, "I don't think he is anymore."  


Dean's shoulders slumped and he let Cas pull him forward into a tight hug.  


"This sucks."  


"I know," Cas repeated, his voice laced with amusement, "but it's the right decision, and in your heart you know that, your Highness."  


Dean nodded, sighing into the embrace before stepping back.  


"I promise," his lover continued, "nothing will happen to your brother. You have my word."  


Dean smiled weakly, "I trust you, Cas. Just don't get hurt yourself in the process."  


"I will come home to you," Cas assured him, jumping straight to his main concern, "I will always return to you, my mate, my love."  


"I love you too," Dean mumbled, shy as he realized he had an audience.  


Sam was watching the two, his mouth dropped wide open as he stared in disbelief. Bobby's eyebrows were raised slightly, but he was mostly stoic at the interaction. Benny was simply watching the two smugly.  


Dean coughed nervously before stepping back and motioning Sam to come forth. He surprised him when he pulled him into a big hug.  


"If you get hurt, I swear I'll kill you," Dean growled in his ear.  


Sam's while countenance lit up, "You mean... You'll really let me go?"  


Dean nodded bitterly, "Yeah. Go and be diplomatic and shit."  


Sam threw him a classic bitch face look, which Dean merely smirked back at before messing up Sam's moppy brown hair.  


"You'll do great."  


"Thanks Dean," Sam replied seriously, lunging forward to give him another tight hug, "I won't let you down."  


"I know you won't," Dean assured him, patting his back a few times before they parted. He kissed Cas on the lips one last time waving as he watched his lover and his brother wander off towards the castle gates where the stables were to grab their horses and go.  


Dean motioned for Benny to come closer to him and watched him seriously.  


"You're a good soldier, Benny. Bring them home."  


"You have my word, Your Highness," his burly friend replied. They have each other a brief hug before Benny was jogging to join the other two, leaving a sighing Dean behind with a curious Bobby.  


"He really is good for you, you know that?" Bobby commented, in a way that seemed as though he were reminding and reassuring himself as much as he was doing so to Dean.  


"Yeah, yeah," Dean answered, waving him off before turning and heading back into the castle.  


He heard Bobby mutter under his breath, " _idgit_ ", before following close behind.  


\--  


Cas hid his smile as he patiently and calmly answered all of Sam's questions about the dragon race.  


He enjoyed the younger boy's enthusiasm, knowing that he would need it for where they were going.  


It has been just about a week since he'd left there castle with Benny and Sam by his side.  


Already he desperately missed Dean, tempted to turn around and give up his search to head back.  


However there was another part of him that couldn't wait to see his brothers and sisters.  


It had been much too long since they'd gathered together.  


How many of them were still alive?  


Would they be glad to see him return?  


Or would they resent him for being captured in the first place?  


Castiel hoped they would understand his decision to say no to the cruel Leviathan.  


It truly was a terrible situation, with no possible good outcome for the dragon race.  


Cas had simply done what he thought was best and paid for it dearly.  


There was only one good thing that had come out of that whole mess.  


Dean.  


He smiled unthinkingly, his thoughts wandering once again to his mate back at home.  


Dean certainly was the greatest thing that had happened to him yet.  


When that little boy showed up on his doorstep, lost and confused, calling him the beautiful lost prince, his heart had been stolen.  


When he returned to fulfill his promise in rescuing the dragon prince, Cas fell in love.  


Of course, he had initially fought back, not thinking that Dean would be able to save them both.  


If he had a choice in between his life and Dean's: he would pick Dean every time.  


He was convinced he wasn't important.  


But Dean?  


Dean was everything good this world had to offer.  


"What was it that we're looking for again?" Benny's voice interrupted Sam's ramblings and pulled Cas out of his thoughts.  


"A large boulder with Enochian Ruins etched into the face," Cas replied automatically.  


They had been searching in the area, Cas' memory slightly fuzzy from years of disuse, for the entrance of the mighty fortress of the dragons.  


Benny pointed his finger off to the right and asked, "Kind of like that?"  


Cas immediately turned around, his spirits lifting as he recognized the carvings.  


"Exactly like that," Cas breathed, taking a step forward to get closer to the boulder.  


Each Enochian symbol represented the great Kings and Queens of the past.  


He raced to the rock, his fingers reverently tracing the deep groves.  


He bit his lip as he found the symbols representing his own line.  


It had been so long since his parents were killed, and he still missed them terribly.  


He took a deep breath, feeling the energy of the dragons from the rock in front of him before he took a step back and spoke clearly, "Ol Barinu niis. Odo."  


The boulder let out a deafening crack before pushing itself to the side, revealing a grand entrance into the side of the mountain.  


"Wow," Sam gasped, stepping forward eagerly, "So, dragons really do live in caves?"  


"I suppose, in a way," Cas replied amused, "Although this certainly won't look like any cave that you've ever been in."  


The two began to walk towards the entrance when Benny stepped forward, holding out his arm to stop them.  


"Hold on a moment," he spoke sternly, stepping in front of them to block them with the whole of his body from being able to move forward.  


"What now?" Sam whined, the gaze of his eyes slowly gliding until it was completely fixated on the mysterious opening.  


Benny snapped his fingers in Sam's face to re-catch his attention.  


"We need to go over the rules again," he told them.  


Sam groaned, rubbing his eyes with his large hands, "Beh-nee! We've gone over this already! We know the dumb rules."  


"Then you won't have any trouble repeating them again," Benny challenged, glancing over to Cas as though he were waiting for him to object at any moment.  


Cas nodded his head in approval and turned to Sam, waiting for him to answer.  


Realizing there was no getting out of this, Sam sighed and answered in a monotonous tone, "I will not speak until Cas has introduced me and given me permission. I must always stay by your side. I will not go off alone with any dragon at any time without your knowledge. I won't accept anything they offer me directly, but instead will allow you to check it first before it touches my hands."  


He took a deep breath and continued in the same boring tone, "I will not start or participate in any arguments that could harm relations in between the human and dragon race. I will not require Benny to do anything he deems could be considered ridiculous, as he has one job only, and that is to keep us safe. I will remember his job and, within the best of my ability, not do anything that could make him doing his job harder."  


Benny nodded, satisfied in his repeating, despite his lack of enthusiasm.  


He then turned to Cas and raised an eyebrow.  


Before he could be prompted further, Cas quickly recited, "I will not do or say anything that could bring any possible harm to either the human race or to the future King, my soon-to-be husband, Prince Dean."  


Benny raised an eyebrow, "And?"  


Cas sighed, "I will not get myself killed."  


The burly bodyguard nodded, satisfied, "Great. Now we can go in."  


"Thank you!" Sam replied exasperatedly, looking back at Cas with big hazel eyes as he waited for permission to go in.  


Cas subtly nodded before taking his own initial step through the invisible barrier of the silver boulder.  


A chill ran down his spine as he felt a surge of magic pulse through his skin, dancing along the edge of his hairs, causing them to stick straight up.  


"Whoa," Sam gasped, the same time Benny growled, "What the hell was that?"  


"It was a line of defense to help protect the dragons," Cas spoke calmly, "Anyone who wishes harm on the dragon race would have been poisoned and dramatically weakened, thus allowing the dragons to easily counter any attack and stop any opposing threats against their kingdom."  


Benny scoffed, "And were you planning on informing us about this?"  


Cas frowned, "I had not planned to, no."  


"You didn't think that this would be important information to know?!" Benny hissed, stepping forward until he was in Cas' space.  


The dragon merely shook his head, "Neither of you pose any ill-will or threat to the dragon race. Therefore, the magic screen will have had no effect over you. I assure you I was not trying to keep any pertinent information from you. I simply did not think about it, but I knew it would not apply to you."  


Benny sighed, running a hand over his face, "Yeah, I know. That's fine. Just, in the future, let me know if we're about to walk through any hidden traps."  


"I will do my best," Cas answered, turning to look at Sam who was staring at him wide-eyed with his mouth dropped wide open.  


Cas tilted his head in confusion, glancing back behind him to try and figure out what Sam was staring at, when he caught sight of his wings fluttering behind him.  


"Oh," Cas said, realizing that this was the first time Sam had seen his wings.  


"Woah," Sam repeated again, as though he were unsure whether or not he were allowed to look, but just couldn't pull his eyes away.  


Benny looked in between the two, frowning when he realized that Cas' true nature was showing.  


"Why'd your magic bracelet stop working?" he asked curiously, gesturing to the dark wings fluttering behind his figure.  


"Another side effect of the magic we just walked through," Cas explained, stretching his wings out before pulling them tightly in against his back to rest there, "It lowers any magical defenses you may have in place."  


Benny hummed again, noticing Sam was still staring unabashedly and pushed him to pull him out of his reverie. Sam blushed bright red, realizing what he'd been doing and murmured a quick apology.  


Cas waved his apology off, "Just don't stare at the other dragons when we reach the grand hall and we'll be fine."  


Sam nodded fervently, physically and mentally gearing and preparing himself so he wasn't accidentally rude in the court of the dragons.  


Cas nodded once, satisfied that Sam would be able to control himself before turning to lead them up the dark hallway.  


The hall was lined with dark and light stones, interwoven with each other to create intricate patterns. 

The further along they walked, the brighter the hallway became, until suddenly glittering jewels and brightly shining gemstones were placed within the walls of the grand hallway. They walked until they reached two large wooden doors, blocking them from continuing.  


"Just beyond these doors is the grand hall," Cas informed the other two, "Here we will be able to request an audience with the current King and continue from there."  


"Awesome," Sam murmured, mimicking his older brother's often used phrase.  


"Ready?" Cas asked amused as he glanced in between his two traveling companions, the younger one bouncing on the heels of his foot in mixed excitement and terror, while the other's face was completely void of any emotion, telling Cas just how uncomfortable with all of this he truly was.  


"Let's do this," Sam exclaimed, his bright eyes focused solely on the dragon before him.  


"Lead the way," Benny responded, holding his arm out for Cas to go ahead.  


Cas took a deep breath, steeling himself to be prepared for whatever he found beyond those doors and pushed them open.  


\--  


Dean groaned, his face buried deep in his hands.  


"I. Don't. Care." He spoke through gritted teeth, "Just pick one."  


The woman who sat across him scoffed, "I can't just _pick one_ , Your Majesty. You need to make the decision yourself."  


"Why can't you?" He challenged, "It's not like it really matters."  


The woman gasped, " _Not like it matters_? This is one of the most important days of your life. Every little detail counts!"  


Dean moaned, throwing his head back against the chair as he lounged in the seat.  


He glanced over to the young, blonde woman sitting next to him, "You pick."  


"No way," she smirked, leaning forward as she watched his predicament, "I am enjoying this _way_ too much to help put you out of your misery."  


"C'mon Jo," Dean whined.  


Jo and Ellen had traveled from their small town to the castle at Castiel's request. He had thought that the two women who be invaluable in helping prepare for their upcoming wedding and coronation and had decided he rather liked the strong-willed women.  


Dean had agreed, deciding that he should accept all the help he could get while Cas was away.  


Jo shook her head, "Nope, Not doing it Sir."  


Dean scowled as he stared at the long line of floral arrangements along the dining room table, "I'm about to be King. I shouldn't be doing any of this crap anyway. Isn't this sort of frilly stuff the Queen's job?"  


The florist gasped, taking offense that the King thought her trade to be considered ' _crap_ ' while Jo rolled her eyes.  


"That's sexist," she pointed out.  


Dean shook his head, "My Queen is a man. So, it can't be sexist."  


"It's racist, then," she challenged.  


He scrunched up his nose, "That doesn't even make sense."  


Jo opened her mouth to argue, when the florist interjected, "It doesn't matter what it is. The future Queen, His Highness Castiel, is currently not available," judging by the slight sneer on her face, the woman clearly thought this was unacceptable, as though picking the floral arrangement for their upcoming wedding was more important than any excuse they could come up with, but she continued, "therefore, the decision rests with you, Your Majesty."  


Dean sighed dramatically, thinking a moment before pointing to a simple arrangement a few feet off to his right, "That one. The blue one."  


"Excellent choice, Your Highness," the florist spoke, relief lacing her tone, "This is a beautiful, yet simple and elegant arrangement with white lilies, blue roses, forget-me-nots, and baby's breath."  


"Great," Dean answered, grunting as he stood up from his seat.  


The florist bowed deep to the floor as he brushed past her, with Jo bouncing along as she followed behind him.  


As soon as the door closed, Dean leaned up against it, stretching his neck as he took a deep breath.  


"Congratulations," Jo smirked, patting Dean's arm awkwardly, "You survived and still have your balls in tact."  


Dean rolled his eyes, listening to Jo cackle at her own joke.  


"Just tell me what's next on the damn list," he growled, motioning in the air for her to give him his answers.  


Jo pulled out a folded white piece of paper with a schedule on it, and glanced through the list.  


"We just finished with the florist, and now you need to pick a...type of ribbon to put on the end of the chairs."  


Dean banged his head against the wall several times in preparation.  


\--  


Cas glanced around the room as the grandeur hall was filled with gasps as he and the two humans stepped onto the tiled floor.  


He forced himself not to look around the room at the faces of many of his brothers and sisters whom he still remembered and cared for.  


He had to follow protocol first. Hopefully, there would be time to reunite later.  


"I am Prince Castiel, son of the late King, his Highness Charles and his wife, the Queen, her Highness Rebecca. I request an audience with the current King of the court," he called out to the room, his eyes watching an older balding man with dark gray wings and silver scales that he'd always thought were kind of drab at the forefront of the area.  


He remembered this man, from when he was in the court with his parents at a young age.  


The man sputtered as he watched Castiel walk closer, the hushed whispers of the hall at his presence growing louder and more steady.  


"Ca-Castiel?" The older man sputtered, his eyes wide.  


"Zachariah," Cas acknowledged, nodding in the direction of the man.  


"You're alive?" he asked incredulously, his wings fluttering wide behind him, as though he couldn't really believe what was standing right before him, "And you brought..." he sniffed the air, looking for confirmation before sneering, his wings poised as though ready for a fight, "humans?"  


"It would appear to be so, yes," Cas answered back, making a pointed effort to keep his wings calm despite the fact he was irritated at the older dragon's posturing. He paused for a moment before prompting again, "Zachariah, could I meet with the current King?"  


Zachariah coughed awkwardly, his wings immediately curling tightly against his back as he seemed to come to his senses, before nodding briskly, "Of course. If you would wait for a moment, please."  


He scurried off to presumably go speak with the King, leaving Castiel and the others behind.  


Cas could tell that Sam was dying to ask questions, his eyes flickering from dragon to dragon in the room, not lingering on one person for too long, but he was grateful he kept his mouth shut. Now certainly was not the time. Especially not after Zachariah's obvious distaste.  


He forced himself not to look around for more signs of others who felt the same way Zachariah appeared to about humans.  


How many more hated them with just as fervent of passion as the older, graying dragon did?  


He internally sighed, careful that his disappointment didn't show up on his face. He suspected that creating an alliance in between the dragon and human race was going to be far more difficult that he had anticipated.  


He had known it would be tough, the two races had a long history and hatred and distrust in between the two. It was originally the reason why his parents suggested a marriage between the two Kingdoms, to help bridge the gap and perhaps learn to become allies.  


Castiel wondered if his parents would have made a different decision, had they known the type of humans they were dealing with.  


Someone from the left of him stepped forward bravely, among the crowd of whispering dragons, all fixated on their returning prince and his human companions.  


"Castiel?" the girl asked hesitantly, flicking back her long red hair as she squinted to see him better, her soft brown and white wings shaking behind her nervously, "Castiel, is that really you?"  


Cas smiled warmly, "Anael, it is good to see you."  


Anael gasped, holding her hands up to her mouth, her wings shooting out behind her in excitement. It was painfully obviously she was holding herself back from rushing forward to pull Cas into her arms.  


At his confirmation, the room erupted in cheers and shouts of joy.  


"Welcome back, Prince Castiel!"  


"We missed you!"  


"We waited so long for your return!"  


Cas stared back in surprise, looking at the happily moving wings, flurry together in a fit of excitement. 

His heart warmed at the welcome, he had hoped they would be glad to see him, but he'd never imagined...  


He held up his hand, speaking softly his thanks, before a door opened at the side, flinging back to hit the wall, and immediately deafening the hall.  


A short woman with her hair tied back in a tight bun behind her head and royal robes stepped forward, gracefully entering the room as her dark, rich purple wings stood majestically behind her, showing just how regal and prominent she really was.  


"Well, well," she spoke, no emotion showing on her face. Even her wings were completely still, showing no feeling that could betray her thoughts as she continued, "the prodigal son has returned."  


\--  


"Now this is the type of wedding planning I can get behind," Dean moaned, shoving another forkful of food into his mouth.  


"Don't speak with your mouth full," Ellen scolded, taking another reasonable bite of food.  


"You're not the boss of me, I'm about to be King. I can do whatever I want," Dean answered back ostentatiously, but listened to the older woman and waited until he had swallowed first.  


"Is the food to your liking?" the chef asked hopefully, watching as Dean shoveled in bite after bite.  


"Hell yeah it is," He answered excitedly, "This is amazing. What else ya got for me?"  


The chef hummed, "I suppose we can move on to desserts after this. Of course, there are several flavors of the traditional wedding cake I would like for you to test, but I also have some other items that may be to your liking for your wedding feast. Uh, macaroons, eclairs, cannoli, tarts, pies, orange rolls..."  


"Hang on," Dean interrupted him, holding out his hand and looking at him seriously, "Did you say _pie_?"  


"Why, yes I did," the Chef answered back.  


Dean smiled widely, pushing his plate of food to the side, "I think it's time to bring out those desserts!"  


\--  


Cas bowed deep to the ground, looking up at the strong woman in front of him.  


It did not surprise him that it was her standing before him.  


"King Naomi," he acknowledged.  


She waved her hand giving him permission to stand up again.  


"So it's true?" she asked, "You've escaped the beast's clutches and returned home, only to bring back a couple of the monsters who enslaved you."  


Cas curled his lip in displeasure, "These are not the men who captured me. In fact, it was not the human race's fault for what happened to us."  


Naomi laughed cruelly, "Ha, not their fault? If it wasn't for that damn alliance your Father desperately wanted, we wouldn't be in this predicament!"  


"My Father was a great man doing what he thought was best," Castiel challenged, his wings furling out slightly in an aggressive manner as he stepped forward into the woman's personal space, "And you would do well to remember that you should not speak ill of the departed."  


Naomi took a deep breath, taking a brief moment to compose herself, her wings shivering slightly before they returned to their original position, before she asked nonchalantly, "I suppose you've come back to regain your place on the throne."  


Cas frowned, "No."  


Her eyebrows raised high on her forehead, "No? Pray tell, why on earth not?"  


"I am here to inform you that I intend on fulfilling my Father's wishes. I intend to marry into the human kingdom and rule as Queen, as it was originally designed for me to do so."  


Naomi scoffed, but didn't speak up, allowing the other to continue.  


"I'm here to request the presence of some of my family and friends to join me in celebrating this union, and come in hopes that perhaps we can form an alliance in between the two races, just as we had desired to do so, those many years previous."  


Murmurs spread through out the hall, everyone lit up with either excitement or displeasure at Castiel's announcement.  


Naomi held up a hand, immediately silencing the hall and asked, "Who are the humans with you?"  


"This is Prince Samuel and his guard, Sir Benjamin, a Knight of the Winchester empire," he introduced.  


"Why have they come?" she asked curtly and distrusting.  


"Samuel is here, acting on behalf of King Dean of the Winchester Empire as the human representative for a liaison in between our two races. King Dean would very much like an alliance formed with the humans and the dragons, as would I."  


"But clearly he didn't trust us enough to allow his representative come alone," she snarled, nodding her head in Benny's direction.  


"Would you have sent someone alone into the hands of what may be a hostile environment?" Castiel challenged, narrowing his eyes, "At least he is putting forth some effort to resolve our differences and putting the past behind us."  


Naomi's lips twitched briefly, as though she were going to smile, but she reigned it in, keeping the stoic look on her face.  


"I simply can't think of a single dragon in my court that I can spare," she answered, with a wave of her hand.  


"I can think of a few," a voice boomed from the back of the room.  


Many in the hall once again gasped as Naomi frowned, displeased at the intruder, and Castiel slowly turned around, hope beaming in his heart.  


The short man stepped closer, a mischievous smile gracing his lips and a swag in his step, while his light colored eyes twinkled in the light as his four golden wings rose hair into the air behind him, reflecting grandly from the light in the room.  


Sam next to him couldn't hold in his gasp as he stared at the golden wings, truly as unique as the dragon they belonged to.  


"Hello there little brother, boy am I glad to see you."  


\--  


Dean patted his belly, letting his eyes fall shut as he sat warm next to the fireplace.  


"I could get used to this wedding planning if I'm treated to an afternoon like that," the man smiled happily, shooting a charming smirk in the other two women's direction.  


Ellen chuckled, while Jo rolled her eyes in mock exasperation.  


"See?" Ellen said, "What did I tell ya? It wasn't so bad once you gave it a chance."  


"It wasn't so bad once they brought out the food," Dean corrected her.  


"Amen to that," Jo agreed, squirming in her seat to try and get more comfortable.  


Dean glanced at the clock, pleased to see he had fifteen minutes before he had to be at his next meeting.  


He closed his eyes, and settled further into the squishy chair, letting the warm feeling of sleep draw over him.  


As he nodded off, he wondered how Castiel was doing, and if he was having any luck finding his family.  


\--  


"Gabriel?" Castiel breathed, looking at one of his only remaining family members before him.  


While the older dragon wasn't his actual brother (in reality he was his cousin), they had grown up in the castle together, and often felt they were closer family than what they actually were.  


"The one and only!" Gabriel confirmed, his wings standing straight out as he strutted forward and patted Cas on his back.  


"So, a mighty human warrior has slayed the vicious beast and claimed you as his prize, eh Cassie?"  


Cas' smiled immediately turned upside down, "No, that's not what..."  


"Nah, I'm just playin'," Gabriel interrupted him, jumping up to throw his arm around the King's shoulders, their height being very similar.  


Naomi pursed her lips, her wings shaking slightly, not liking the intrusion, but she did nothing to remove his presence, Gabriel being one of the few people who could get away with something like that.  


His bright wings compared to her dark royal ones were almost comical. If they were in any other circumstance, Cas would be tempted to laugh.  


Instead, he stayed quiet as he waited to hear what Gabriel had to say.  


It was always a risk to let his close childhood friend talk in front of a crowd.  


You never quite knew what was going to pop out of his mouth.  


Cas held his breath and waited for the inevitable, hoping for the best.  


"If Cas here says that this human is worthy, then I believe him," Gabriel declared to the hall.  


"After all," he reminded them, "He's the one who warned us about the Leviathan. It's just too bad nothing could have been done sooner to prevent the tragedies that followed."  


There was a moment of solemn silence as everyone remembered the deaths of the previous King.  


"What happened?" Cas quickly asked, diverting Gabriel's attention as he was dying to know, "After I was taken?"  


"Well, we needed a new King after your ol' man passed," Gabriel answered, "and both Michael and Lucifer were up to the challenge. Only, they couldn't decide on who should do it. So, they broke out into a war, which ended in Lucifer's death. Michael, distraught by his death, took his own life to join him, and left the Kingdom to be ruled by Naomi here."  


"That's terrible," Cas spoke softly, wishing he had been there to prevent this from happening.  


Michael and Lucifer were Cas' cousins as well, and they were mates.  


He couldn't even imagine the two going to war over something.  


But to have one of their deaths be the outcome?  


It wasn't a surprise Michael took his own life in mourning the death of his mate.  


Cas couldn't even imagine what he would do or how he would feel if Dean passed away, let alone if he were the cause of his death in any way.  


"It is what it is," Gabriel said bluntly, "No point dwelling on the past. Which I believe is the exact point you are currently trying to make!"  


"Yes, it is," Cas agreed, grateful for the smaller man's support.  


Gabriel jumped down, stepping close into Sam's space, his wings curling around the younger boy suggestively and asked, "So, who's this cutie, here? Your soon-to-be hubby?"  


Sam's breathing became a little more staggered as he looked at the beautiful golden wings just within arms reach.  


Cas frowned deeply at the display, but made no effort to stop his older cousin, and shook his head, "No, this is Prince Samuel. My fiancé is his older brother, King Dean of the Winchester Empire."  


"And I'm Sir Benjamin," Benny spoke gruffly, stepping forward to put himself in between the foreign dragon and his current charge, "Prince Samuel's guard."  


"Benny," Sam muttered under his breath, embarrassed at the obvious display of protection.  


"Oh ho," Gabriel answered amused, taking a step back as he held out his hands in mock defense, "better watch out for this one."  


He relaxed his stance slightly, turning around so he could speak directly out to the dragons of the court, and asked, "So, Prince Samuel, What can you _humans_ do for us dragons?"  


Sam, whose eyes widened slightly as he realized he had the attention of every single dragon in the grand hall, glanced over at Cas who gave him a subtle nod to tell him that it was okay to speak with and answer Gabriel's questions.  


Sam nodded in return, steeling himself before he moved to the side and stepped in front of Benny so he was directly facing Gabriel, who had since turned back around to face Sam once again.  


"An alliance in between the dragon and human empires can do nothing but help. Through this we can ensure each of our race's safety and protection, from each other as well as from other threats. We can expand our trades, benefiting us both, as you would be able to have access to our ports out on the sea. At this point, we are open to suggestions and requests from the dragons as to what they would like from an arrangement so that the agreement can become mutually beneficial."  


Gabriel whistled loudly as dragons spoke softly to themselves, "Impressive. You come up with that on your own?"  


"I come here as a representative of King Dean of the Winchester Empire to act as a liaison..."  


"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Gabriel brushed off the obviously rehearsed response.  


He hummed for a moment to himself before asking, "How old are ya, kid?"  


Sam glanced at Cas, hesitantly answering, "Ninteen?"  


"Pretty young for a liaison," the dragon commented thoughtfully, "What makes you so special? Other than your princely status?"  


"I know diplomacy," Sam answered, before anyone could tell him otherwise, "I've grown up in meetings, dealing with diplomats both from our empire and from distant lands. And most importantly, I don't have any prejudices. I want this union to work. I'm happy that my brother found Cas and I want our two Kingdoms to ally together. I'm willing to put in the effort to make this work."  


Gabriel smirked, turning back to Naomi who was listening to Sam's spiel with a frown.  


"I'm convinced!" he said, putting his arms out wide, his stance open and inviting, wings fluttering gracefully behind him, "Who are we to deny the Kingdom who is welcoming our own little Cassie into their family?"  


Naomi sighed, hearing several murmurs of support from the crowd and asked, "And who would you suggest I send as our representative?"  


Gabriel smiled widely, his wings flicking back mischievously, "I know just the person."  


\--  


Cas' jaw dropped as a man bounded through the door, his dark mauve wings bouncing behind him, "Cassie? Darling? I'm so happy to see you, love!"  


"Balthazar?!" he blurted incredulously, turning to face Gabriel, "You intend to send Balthazar?"  


"What?" Gabriel asked confused, before seeing the blonde dragon swaggering forward and shook his head, "No, no. Balthazar isn't...that's who I want to send."  


Cas stepped to the side, moving further away from Balthazar as he looked to the doorway once again, watching as a tall brunette shyly walked into the room, her posture straight and face devoid of emotion, although her powder blue wings fluttered nervously.  


As soon as her gaze landed on Castiel, her shoulders and wings drooped in relief and she sighed happily, "Castiel. It's so good to see you."  


Feeling a similar relief, Cas stepped forward to wrap his arms around the younger female, their wings pressing close together in a familiar embrace, "You as well, Hannah. Are you well?"  


"I am," she answered happily, "And you?"  


"I'm better than well," Cas assured her.  


"Why didn't I get a hug when I came in the room?" Balthazar pouted, folding his arms and glaring from where he stood as his wings drooped in stubbornness.  


Castiel laughed, turning to give his old childhood friend a hug as well, his wings pushing Balthazar's so they stood straight up, "Lively, as always," Castiel commented.  


"Oh, well I try," Balthazar answered happily, loving the attention he was receiving.  


"I hope I'm okay for the job..." Hannah spoke quietly, tucking a strand of brown hair behind her ear as her wings continued to flutter nervously behind her.  


"You're perfect," Cas answered immediately, turning to Gabriel and repeating, "She's perfect."  


"I know," Gabriel answered smugly, turning to wink at Sam and Benny who were watching the exchange.  


Benny scowled in response while Sam's cheeks blushed darker red.  


Amused, Gabriel clapped his hands and announced to the room, "Now, let's get this party rolling! We've got a wedding to catch!"  


\--  


Dean focused on breathing steadily as he lied in his bed.  


The wedding was in one week.  


Just one.  


And Castiel, Sam, and Benny weren't back yet.  


He cursed out loud, before taking another deep breath and reminding himself not to get worked up as he was trying to sleep.  


Damn it all to hell.  


Where were they?  


Were they safe?  


Were they okay?  


Did something happen?  


Questions raced through his mind as he desperately tried to come up with answers for why they weren't there yet.  


A timid knock at his door pulled him out of his thoughts.  


He groaned as he stood up, throwing on a gray, plush robe before throwing the door open and staring at the timid guard who stood shakily before him.  


"What?" he asked flatly, not in the mood to deal with issues.  


"Th-There's a caravan, sir. Just an hour up the road heading our direction."  


Dean's eyebrow raised, "A caravan?"  


"Y-yes, s-sir," the soldier stumbled over his words.  


"Do we have any clue who they are?" he pressed.  


"Th-they claim - " the boy paused before pushing forward, "They claim that they're _d-d-dragons_ , s-sir."  


Dean's eyebrows raised, "Dragons?"  


"Y-y-yes, sir. W-what would you have us do?"  


"Tell Bobby I'm meeting the caravan on the road," Dean said, turning back in his room to grab his riding clothes, "Open the gates and prepare the guestrooms. If this is who I think it is..."  


He paused, sincerely hoping it was who he hoped it to be.  


He threw on his clothes, running out to the stables to hop onto his trusty steed, sending out a prayer to the heavens above, _Please let this be Castiel_.  


\--  


Dean raced to the first carriage he saw, heeling his horse, and lifting his hand to tell the other soldiers behind him to do the same.  


He watched carefully, waiting for a representative from the caravan to come and meet him.  


His heart thumped loudly as a tall man with dark hair stepped out of the carriage, his gorgeous nearly black wings stretching out tall behind him, and a taller, young man with floppy brown hair walking side-by-side with a burly guy followed behind that.  


Dean smiled, jumping off his horse and rushing forward to pull his mate and his little brother into his arms.  


"Dean!" Sam complained, but pushed further into the embrace.  


"Shut up, bitch, and accept this," Dean growled, pleased when Sam clutched onto him tighter.  


"Jerk," Sam muttered, burying his face into Dean's side.  


Dean turned to Cas who was looking up at him brightly.  


"Hello Dean," Cas spoke warmly.  


"Welcome home, Cas," Dean answered, pressing a kiss against his lips.  


\--  


Dean didn't know how to feel about the dragons that Cas had brought back with him.  


On the one hand, Castiel seemed to be really happy that they were around.  


He smiled more and talked about good memories from when he was a child, telling Dean stories about things they used to do and games they used to play.  


He would go out for morning flights with the others, stretching his wings and flying much too high for Dean's comfort level.  


Yes, his family being there seemed to do much good for his mate.  


On the other hand...  


Balthazar and his mauve wings was too flirty and handsy with his staff.  


Hannah (the actual liaison) was okay, although she seemed to like Castiel a little too much for Dean's liking. She was always hovering near him, her wings reaching out to touch his. He trusted Cas, but he knew he'd want to keep an eye on that.  


Anna was just a little too sweet, constantly brushing her brown and white speckled wings up again Dean and seeking out his company, much like Hannah was doing to Cas. He'd decided to steer clear of her in fear she would come to the wrong conclusion.  


Samandriel was quiet and Dean couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad one. He stood stoically, with his dark brownish red wings pulled tightly against his back, watching as everyone else bustled around.  


And Gabriel?  


Well, he honestly had no clue what to make of the boisterous dragon who strutted around the castle as though he owned the place, his golden wings filling up the spaces beside him.  


He was loud, obnoxious, often rude, borderline uncomfortable, and had taken way too much of an interest in Sammy...  


But he was Cas' family.  


They all were.  


So, Dean put a smile on his face and bared through it the best he could.  


He sighed in relief as he and Cas entered into their room, closing the door behind them to drown out all the noise they were leaving behind.  


He hummed in pleasure as Cas pulled his body in close, nuzzling his face in Dean's neck.  


"Hey baby," Dean spoke softly, brushing his fingers through his smaller mate's hair and wings.  


That was another bonus that Cas having other dragons around. He felt more comfortable walking around without the bracelet and showed off his wings to the world.  


"We get married tomorrow," Cas said, looking up at Dean with his bright blue eyes, shining in the dimly lit room, "Any regrets?"  


"Only that I couldn't find you sooner," Dean said, giving himself a mental high-five when Cas swooned at the sappiness.  


"I love you," Cas informed him seriously, as though he were concerned that Dean had forgotten.  


"I love you too, sweetheart," Dean answered, pressing his lips lightly against the other's.  


Cas pressed into the embrace more deeply, eager to taste Dean more on his tongue and receive more contact.  


"Woah," Dean said, smirking at Cas' earnestness for more, "Technically it's our wedding night. Should we really be..."  


"Dean? I would like to have sex. With you. Now."  


"Well, I ain't arguing with that," Dean said excitedly, picking Cas up and throwing him onto the bed, closely following behind.  


\--  


Dean shook his head, letting out a deep breath as he made weird noises to try and prepare himself for what he was about to do.  


"You ready?" Sam asked warily, watching Dean go through his jittery routine.  


"Let's blow this bitch," Dean answered, strutting forward and into the main hall, heading up towards the front of the room where he was supposed to be positioned.  


The ceremony dragged on, many prominent names being called and several groups bustling down the aisle.  


But there was only one body that mattered.  


Dean held his breath as the doors finally opened, revealing the one person he really wanted to see.  


Cas stood at the end of the hall in long white robes with silver accents. His wings shimmered in the light as they stood out in the hall, proud to be showing them off.  


Several gasps were heard through-out the hall as they watched the dragon walk down the aisle, being reminded of the heritage of the soon-to-be Queen.  


When Cas finally arrived to the front, Dean grabbed his hands and kissed them softly, whispering, "You're beautiful."  


Cas merely smiled in return before turning to the minister to finish out the ceremony.  


Dean had decided he wanted to get it all over with in one go.  


So, he listened and knelt when appropriate so he could be crowned as the King.  


The Archbishop spoke out, "I here present unto you: King Dean, your undoubted King. Wherefore all you who are come this day to do your homage and service."  
He turned to the crowd and asked, "Are you willing to do the same?"  


With one voice, the crowd shouted back, causing chills to run down Dean's spine, "GOD SAVE KING DEAN!"  


Dean received a sword in his hand and a crown on his head and stood to be presented to the crowd once again, this time officially as their King.  


"LONG LIVE THE KING!"  


The crowd echoed the sentiment and the archbishop motioned for them to settle down so he could continue to the next part of the ceremony.  


"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have been invited here today to witness and celebrate the uniting in marriage of Prince Castiel, Son of the late King Charles and Queen Rebecca of the Dragon Empire and King Dean, Son of the late King John and Queen Mary of the Winchester Empire.  


"They are taking the first step of their new beginning; their new life together.  


"The ability and desire for one human being to love another is perhaps the most precious and fulfilling gift that has been entrusted to us.  


"For these two, they have set aside all differences to bring two nations together.  


"It is and all-consuming task, a lifelong endeavor - the journey we've been preparing for all of our lives.  


"Loving someone is a reason to stretch beyond our limits, to become more for the sake of the other. It is to look into the soul of your beloved and accept what you see.  


"Loving is the ultimate commitment which challenges both humans and dragon to become all that we are meant to be.  


"As they join in marriage today, King Dean and Prince Castiel are announcing to the world that they are welcoming that challenge."  


Dean smiled at Cas, reaching out to squeeze his hand affectionately, wanting him to know for sure that he truly was ready for this challenge they were about to embark on together.  


The minister asked them to repeat after him and asked them to answer with two of the most important words.  


"I do."  


After Dean kissed his new husband, the archbishop prompted Cas to kneel, much like Dean had done before and placed a silver crown on his own head.  


"LONG LIVE KING DEAN AND QUEEN CASTIEL."  


As the crowd repeated the sentiments and cheered for their newly married King and Queen, Dean grabbed his mate, his now husband, and pull him flush against his body so he could give him a deep kiss.  


"You're mine now," Dean teased, nipping his Queen's lower lip, the world drowning out around him as he only focused on the one person he wanted to be with forever.  


"I am," Cas answered amused, mimicking the motion as he returned the kiss, "And you're mine."  


\--  


_**Four Years Later**_  


"...And they lived happily ever after."  


The little girl sighed, falling back onto her papa's big belly, nuzzling into the warm skin there.  


"I like that story, papa," she said, "It's got everything! Monsters and swordfights and a prince who saves himself!"  


"That he does, little one," her papa replied amused, brushing her platinum blonde hair out of her eyes, 

"Although he never could have done it without the King coming to help him."  


"And they really lived happily ever after?" she asked, blinking her wide blue eyes that matched his own back up at him.  


The door opened before he could respond, and the girl jumped up, racing towards the tall man entering the room, "Daddy!"  


The man bent down, picking up the small child effortlessly and giving her a big kiss on her cheek, "Hey there, Mary. What're you still doing up? It's way past your bedtime."  


"Papa was telling me a story," she exclaimed, patting her small hands against her daddy's face.  


"A story?" he asked, fake nibbling on her hands when they brushed his mouth, causing the girl to burst into giggles.  


"Yeah!" she answered excitedly, "'Bout the Lost Prince!"  


The man smiled, turning to take a look at his husband, and winking before he answered, "That was always one of my favorites."  


"But daddy," the girl asked, pulling his face back so he was looking at her again, "did they really live happily ever after?" she asked again seriously.  


Her daddy, hummed, as he seemed to really ponder the question.  


He looked over at his husband, sitting in a big mauve plush chair, rubbing his plump belly, ready to pop with their second child any day now, his wings looking worn, showing off his exhaustion. They fluttered happily as he caught his husband's gaze, and he shot him a small, loving smile.  


He looked back down at his daughter and kissed the tip of her nose.  


"Yeah," he breathed happily, mouthing the words _'I love you'_ to his husband who repeated them back, "I think they really did live happily ever after."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there you have it!
> 
> Thank you again for all your support! You truly were all wonderful to hear from and your comments and kudos and hits were very much appreciated! 
> 
> I love you all!

**Author's Note:**

> If you feel so inclined, please leave comments and kudos if you enjoy the story! I simply ask that any and all comments are done in a good spirit (constructive criticism is always welcome. Being mean is never a good thing).
> 
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> 
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